The Week of Blue Sun
by Foxpilot
Summary: Smashers go missing during an important celebration. Now, the remaining warriors must find their missing friends before the end of the event. Will include an Okami character later.
1. Smashing Festivities

"**Ummm………hi…**

**Okay, enough boring crap. I'm Foxpilot. You may also call me F-p or Eric. My "authorized" description is on my profile. And I'm starting my second story here. And to kick it off, I got one of the main characters to read the disclaimer! Take it away!"**

**Marth walks out onto the stage…platform…wherever they are. He begins speaking in Japanese, confusing the audience.**

**F-p walks up and waves a form in Marth's face. "The contract says English! I know you can; you learned for Shadow Dragon DS!"**

"**Okay, fine," Marth replies. He then clears his throat and begins to read. "'Foxpilot does not own the Smash Brothers Series nor is this story licensed. If he did own the series, The Subspace Emissary would be longer and have voice acting.' There, how's that?"**

"**Excellent, you may go now." Before Marth can protest, he is dropped into a random pit, which spits out red smoke. "Hmmm…that's supposed to be green. Looks like I gotta get a contractor on that." F-p then looks out into the crowd. "I've also gotta make these intros shorter. So…Let it…Begin!"**

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It was a beautiful night at the Smash Mansion. The moon had just risen and the night was warm. The younger Smashers were chasing fireflies around the yard, occasionally catching one and proudly displaying it to their friends. On the extensive porch, several adult Smashers were talking about the mysterious festivities Master Hand had mentioned.

"I dunno what this thing's for, but I'm always game for a party," said one feathered smasher. Falco Lombardi, ace of the Star Fox team and proud of it, swept a blue-feathered hand back over his glossy blue-feathered head. His silver pilot jacket slightly reflected the porch light, making him seem to glow in a representation of his endless confidence.

The figure next to him smiled, rank breath leaking out into the noses of his fellows. Thankfully, they had gotten used to the stench after several years with the guy. Wario was a distasteful snob who lived for money and lived off of a strict garlic diet. He began scratching at the seat of his pants as he said, "I agree. We-a don't often have-a parties. I-a hope there are gifts!" Wario then threw his head back and gave his odd laugh.

"Don't count on it," the person across the table said. This being was odd in that he was small, blue, and round. He wore a mask and openly carried a sword with four prongs sticking off of it. This was Meta Knight. While cold at times, the mysterious warrior nonetheless was not object to social events. "The only times we get presents during a party is on a birthday or Christmas. Even then, you don't give anything. I'm not getting you a present from now on."

As Wario's jaw went slack with incomprehension, the fourth figure at the table began to laugh in a raspy voice before taking a puff of a cigarette. Solid Snake, or Snake as everyone called him, was a heavily private person who could make himself known or unknown as he pleased. "MK's gotcha there, fatso. Maybe if you actually gave a damn about others, you'd get more of your precious loot." Snake laughed again.

These four Smashers were not particularly friends, but they did draw a sort of solace in knowing that each was a worthy rival. The fact that they were talking together showed that they had a relative comfort around each other. Except maybe Wario. Nobody really liked him, but they put up with him to keep Master Hand happy.

Their little chat also showed that they were done. Master Hand had everyone working for this special event he had planned, except for the kids. The four in question had managed to finish their tasks early thanks to their own special talents.

"So," Falco began. He liked being a leader and it showed in small groups like this. "What do you all think the Hand man has up his sleeve for us?"

"I bet it's-a garlic party!"

"Wario, life does not revolve around you. Besides, it is obviously a party dedicated to my great popularity and skill as a Smasher."

"Get real, Meta! You aren't the best here! I beat you just last night and it wasn't even close." Falco's arrogant comeback stung the shorter warrior, but he couldn't deny the facts. It had been a fair fight, after all.

"Hmm…so, it's not any Earth holiday I know," Snake mused, both trying to ease tension and get the conversation back in line. He had recently lost a Brawl against Ike, the strong, blue-haired mercenary from Crimea, and was trying to forget about fighting for a while.

"I don't-a know."

"PopStar has no federal occasions on this day." 

"Lylat certainly doesn't have anything. Hey, speakin' of Lylat, look who just showed up!"

Indeed a new member of the Smashers had appeared. A moderately tall, upright fox wearing garb similar to Falco's had stepped out onto the porch, wiping his brow with the back of his hand-like paw. He looked up and grinned at his old friend and greeted the group. "Hey Falco, Meta Knight, Snake, Wario. Just so you know, Master Hand's going to announce the reason for all of this work soon."

"Hey, Fox, you alright? The Hand man didn't work you too hard did he," Falco jested, knowing that his friend had been working to fix the boilers in the basement. A thick coat like Fox's would soon overwhelm anyone not used to it.

"Ha, funny, Falco. But seriously, help me get the kids together so we can get started."

After the young fighters had been corralled into the den, Master Hand addressed his audience. "My Smashers, I have gathered you here—Crazy! Don't touch that! Anyway, tomorrow begins the Week of the Blue Sun, a proud day in the history of the Smashing World celebrated once every 250 years. Thanks to your hard work, we are ready to begin the celebrations!" This statement was met by loud cheers by all except ROB, who merely clapped its metallic arms together, pretending to comprehend the point of celebration in general.

Once the noise had subsided, Master Hand continued. "As soon as the clock strikes midnight, I will drop the Ball of Blue Sun and the party shall begin. We will continue until just before sunrise." This announcement was followed by yet more cheers.

"Now, a little history to pass the time." The younger Smashers and some of the more impatient members grumbled and moaned, but Master Hand ignored them. "Now, ten million years ago, this planet was just a barren wasteland of scorched rocks and dried oceans. That was before I came." Master Hand chuckled at the memory, while many Smashers sweatdropped at the haughtiness the hand-lord had displayed. Even ROB.

"I was a young hand of 21,206 at the time, and full of my power. I had been studying this planet to see if I could make it my own, as many Hand-lords once did long ago. During my studies, I noticed that once every 250 revolutions of this planet, the sun would turn blue almost randomly. This happened to coincide with a rush of power that I felt every so often. So I decided that this planet was perfect for me. When the time came, almost ten million years ago, I used this influx of power to make this world beautiful.

"I moved it away from the sun, filled the seas with water, and built a society. However, these people did not have true life. I have tried four times to make living species on this planet. The first ones were utter failures, which were soon destroyed by the fledgling planet's climate, thrown into turmoil by the changes in geo-stellar orbit. The other three you've seen around the house as my benevolent servants: the Polygons, the Wireframes, and the Alloys."

As Master Hand paused, Samus spoke up. "So you tried to create life twice recently, then?" Her eyes flashed, not dangerously as one angered, but curiously as one confused. I thought we were supposed to be the inhabitants of the planet."

Master Hand paused for a moment before responding. "That is true, all of it. When I found that I couldn't make life myself, I chose people from many different worlds not claimed by other Hand-lords to populate my world. I would like to think that I chose well, for you all feel like my children." Awkward silence ensued as the Smashers exchanged glances of unease. "Well, you do to me, and that's what matters," exclaimed the giant glove.

"Now, I got off track so let me summarize for those of you who didn't pay attention. I made this planet ten million years ago using an odd solar event to fuel my power. This is the 40,000th celebration of the Week of Blue Sun, and I am glad to share it all with you. Happy WoBS!" and with that, the clock struck twelve. Master Hand smashed a ball hanging from the ceiling onto the ground.

A blue glow like sunlight enveloped the mansion. From nowhere party favors and refreshments appeared. Olimar turned on the music and the party began.

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"I had no idea that Master Hand was so old," Wolf remarked to nobody in particular. He was sitting at the small bar along with Falco, Snake, and King Dedede. They were being served by an original Polygon, and were each in their own state of inebriation. Snake had fallen asleep, Falco was spinning on the bar stool, making starfighter noises, and Dedede was paying some attention to Wolf. The clawed Smasher continued.

"I'd 'a thought he was only as old as my grandpup. But he's as old as the Cornerian civilization!" The Polygon placed a sparkling and fizzing drink at Wolf's paw. The lupine pilot downed it before continuing. "Why, I bet he's old by Hand standards. We could take him out and make this planet a hideout!"

"Mm-hm…" Dedede's drinks had begun to get to the fat penguin's head. "I think that the old Hand guy looks pretty hot. Bet he's pretty good at…hahahaha!" At this point, the mallet-wielding bird keeled over laughing his guts out. Wolf grimaced, hoping that he would keep some semblance of sanity tonight.

"Fweeeeeeeeewww…peewpeewpeew! I gotcha, Wolfy. Nobody beats Falco the great. Hahaha *hic* hahaha!" Wolf punched the offending blue avian in the face, causing Falco to join the so-called "king" on the floor. "Fox, get this guy off me!" The pilot imitated a certain squeaky toad before laughing again. Wolf growled and grabbed his head. Tonight was certainly not the best he'd had.

Meanwhile, across the room, in a circle of Smashers, Lucario was having a break-dancing contest with Pikachu. "Do you wish to surrender, mouse, or do you want to be schooled some more," asked Lucario. He thought the contest was his, hands (or paws) down.

"Pika! Pika pikachu pika pika!" The electric rodent was infuriated, insisting that it was winning the contest. The Smashers around were split pretty evenly, some arguing in Pikachu's defense and others joining Lucario's side.

A little ways off, the swordsmen were discussing the code of conduct a sword-wielder should follow.

"I'm telling you, a woman on the right is not a woman at all," argued Marth. This was met with grumbles of opposition. "What, you don't believe me? Ike, come stand at my right." The non-Fire Emblem swordsmen laughed, much to Marth and Ike's fury.

"WE'RE NOT TOGETHER! I've got a lady back home," the infuriated pair shouted.

"Hahaha! It sounds like you're together. That was perfect!" Link's jest was soon forgotten as Marth stood next to him and drew his sword, landing the blade right at Link's midriff. The blade hit lightly and on the flat part, but it was enough to stop Link and everyone else from laughing.

"_That_ is why a woman on the right is not a woman at all." Marth walked off to get something to eat while the other swordsmen, minus Link, began to laugh again.

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The morning sunlight had an odd hue. It burned the bird's eyes as he awoke. "Aw, man, what happened last night. I haven't had a headache so bad since…since that night with Katt. Ouch." Falco's griping landed on deaf ears; Falco was the only one awake in the room. King Dedede lay nearby in a major stupor, and Lucario was passed out on the couch. Falco vaguely remembered the Aura user bashing his head when he tried an insane dancing stunt. "Heh, serves him right, amateur."

Falco dragged himself to the kitchen, wondering where everyone was. The clock read 12:37…or was that 2:37? Falco's headache kept him from seeing clearly. The avian pilot poured himself a bowl of cereal without milk so that he could try and clear his head. The crunching only made the pain worse. As Falco sat there holding his head, he heard a voice yell "hello?"

"Ugh, could you pipe down? I got a major headache here! Ouch, that hurt, too." Falco sat for a moment in self pity before noticing a blue hedgehog standing in the doorway. 'Oh, great, now I'm delusional,' Falco thought. Slowly it dawned on the avian that he wasn't hallucinating, but that he was looking at Sonic. The speed-demon had a bemused look on his face.

"What's wrong with you, Falco, too much to drink, too little sleep," the annoying taunt was met with a half-eaten bowl of dry cereal to the face. "Well, sorrrrry! I thought you might know where everyone went! Only Marth, Ike, Meta, you and me are left!"

"Naw, you annoying twit. The dog and the penguin are out cold in the den. Now shut up. We're giving me a headache. Besided, they probably all went out to have fun on the town during the whole 'Blue Sun' thing."

"Sucks to be you!" Sonic walked to the living room before calling, "oh, Ike mentioned that, too. All of the vehicles are here, and the doors to the room were open. Meta doesn't think anyone actually got out of bed." The hedgehog went to annoy someone else.

Slowly, Falco realized what Sonic had said. If the Smashers were out, they would have taken a large vehicle or a small group of them. And Meta Knight had an eye for these kinds of things. Falco's smarting mind managed to recognize something was wrong before Marth rushed into the room waving a large paper. He looked like he had found a ghost.

Either the mansion was haunted, or the paper was more than just ordinary stationary.

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**Okay, that's chap #1. I think the end could be better, but my account just got unlocked a little while ago and I want to get this out.**

**Two things. First, the "woman on the right" thing was something from a Renaissance Fair skit I once saw. If you get the joke, you can lol about it with the rest of us. Second, I learned that Microsoft Word recognizes "Pikachu" as a word without me putting it in. It even autocorrects for it! That shows so many things, you know…?**

**One last thing. Can you guess what these remaining Smashers have in common? Try, I dare you!**

**If you didn't like it, tell me. If you are reasonable, I'll take your ideas into account for upcoming chapters.**

**Ciao chow!**


	2. Crazy Hand's Secret

**"I got reviews! I got reviews! They were both so kind and they make me happy! I LOL with joy, HAHAHAHAHA!!! In special thanks, I credit you, Frederic Marile, as my first review EVER! Thanks so much. And Golden-Owl, you get something special, too, because you are correct! Everyone left behind has a blue body coloring. As a special reward, I'll have your friend Falco do the disclaimer!"**

**Falco steps into the line of the camera. "Hey, Foxpilot doesn't own Smash Bros., alright? If he did, Wolf would have had a…bigger…roll…in…HEY! What gives?! I thought this was my time!"**

**"Eh…it kinda is…but I couldn't think of ways to improve you that would work well. Sorry. But, you did a good job. Too bad you still have a hangover in the story."**

**"WHAT?! Hey! Why I oughta--!"**

**"Let's move on before somebody gets exploded. Let it…Begin!"**

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"'_My Smashers…power…too…strong…Can't hold on…Any left behind must…find Mother Am…_' and it ends there." Marth looked up at the other Smashers with a worried expression. "'Power too strong'? Does that mean he lost control? If so, why are we left behind?"

Marth's questions were met with several different responses ranging from confusion to drunken snoring. When the latter filled their ears, the group looked over to King Dedede, who was still passed out on the floor. Falco soon snapped.

"Gah! Won't somebody shut him up?! He's giving me a bigger headache!"

Sonic was rather amused by this statement. "It's your own fault for drinking too much. You're too slow at getting rid of the stuff!"

"Either shut up and do something useful or get out of my way. I'm not in any mood to take your crap right now."

Marth decided to intervene at this stage. "Sonic, if you'd be so kind as to get Falco an aspirin from Dr. Mario's stock…I think we'd all appreciate it."

Sonic, always ready to race, lit up at this proposal. "Time me! I bet I can beat my record from that one time when Bowser--."

"Just GO," roared Falco. Sonic took that as his cue to start, dashing out of the kitchen and passed a downcast Ike, nearly bowling the large mercenary over. Ike took a look back at the speeding hog before continuing to the den.

"I found this in Red's room, but I don't know if whatever's inside will listen to me. Marth, you're a bit more…social. Maybe you should try." 

Marth gave Ike an odd stare that seems to say, "_so that means I can talk to Pokémon better than you?_" but accepted the orb and released the catch. Any hopes for a large dragon or a leafy dinosaur were quickly dashed.

"Squirtle!" The tiny blue terrapin popped out ready to fight, only to be confused when it didn't see its trainer. "Squirtle? Squir squirtle squirt?"

Marth sighed, knowing that Squirtle would probably be upset. "Squirtle, Red's missing, along with many of the other Smashers. We're going to need help to find them. Are you willing to listen to one of us?"

Squirtle took a moment to absorb the information before letting out a sad moan. It was clear the bond that Squirtle had with its Trainer and some of the other Smashers was special, and the news of their disappearance was taken quite hard. Squirtle looked sadly at Marth before realizing that it still had friends to count on and help. This seemed to brighten the mood of the tiny turtle, who quickly started jabbering excitedly. "Squirt squirtle squirt squirt squirtle squir!"

"Shut up already, stupid tortoise! Grr…why did I order something with "hot," "fiery," and "explosive" in its name? Falco laid his head on the table and covered it with his wings. Meta Knight walked into the room at this point, looked at the bird reproachfully, and continued into the den.

"So, is this everyone," inquired Meta Knight of his fellow swordsmen. Marth looked down at the knight and prepared to speak, but Ike started first.

"Pretty much. Sonic is getting Falco some headache stuff, but he should be back at any time." Rushing footsteps were heard from the hall. "In fact, here he comes."

Indeed, Sonic was coming. He passed into view, threw the bottle of aspirin on the table near Falco, and slid to a stop, exclaiming victoriously, "Haha! That felt great! I feel stronger than ever! Oh, hey Squirtle." At this, the hedgehog and the Pokémon exchanged violent glares. The two had shared a negative history ever since Sonic was first blasted by Squirtle's Water Gun. Sonic immediately looked away and decided to make a big deal again. "I found someone else! He's on the way now."

"Great, someone else to yell like an idiot," Falco muttered before he finished off the water he was drinking. The headache had clearly not been resolved quite yet. Any time now, though…

Meta Knight looked around at everyone before making an interesting realization. "Does anyone see any connection between us?" This was met with blank stares like the ones a sixth-grade math class has when they realize they aren't just working with whole numbers anymore. Meta Knight sighed mentally before continuing. "We all have something blue about us. Lucario and Sonic have blue fur. Me, King Dedede, and Squirtle have blue skin. Marth and Ike have blue hair; and Falco has blue feathers. Perhaps there is some sort of connection."

"TheRE is." The voice drew the attention of all of the awake Smashers to the hall Sonic had come out of earlier. A left hand floated through. Crazy Hand, Master Hand's brother, and often time ward, seemed far more upset rather than his usual maniacal self. What was really odd about the hand today, though, was that he was a very bright shade of blue. "Only THE BLue-coVERED were SPARed. I WAZ lucky Enuff to be trying nEW CoLORz WheN It Happened."

Marth Noticed that Crazy Hand was not twitching like usual, and was about to raise this up when the Hand-lord beat him to it. "YeS, I Know I no iz TWICHY. In Factz, THERE's no Point IN PRETENDIn' rite noaw." Crazy Hand then shook himself back and forth before continuing. His voice was the same, but the tone it took made more sense. "…Wow. Five seconds into "normal mode" and I'm already bored."

The Smashers were stunned. Crazy Hand was acting…not crazy. In fact, he sounded like Master Hand on helium in his new-found sanity. Before anybody could recover from their shock, Crazy spoke again. "I know I sound strange, and after 50,000 years of glorious nuttiness, it feels strange, too, but you must listen. The Blue Sun's power is unusually strong this cycle and only you may help." Crazy Hand snapped his fingers twice, waking Dedede and Lucario instantly. The two Smashers were already listening intently and seemed to understand what was happening. Crazy Hand continued.

"My brother's power has become too strong and will soon destroy this planet. I fear I have failed my role as guardian."

"Now hold on just a moment," said Dedede in his first line in the chapter. "Your role? I thought Master Hand guarded you. You're supposed to be unstable, yet you come in my head, clean out my insides, and let me 'know what happened', just to tell me you are a guardian?! That's too funny! Where's Master Hand, he'll love this."

"Yeah. I don't usually agree with penguin-boy, but this all seems too improbable." Falco, already cleared of his hangover, decided he wouldn't have the joke. "Alright, Foxie, you got us! You can come out now and tell us how you all are gonna post this on the Internet or something! Joke's over and we're not buying it!"

"This is no laughing matter," stated Crazy Hand. "The truth is that I am my brother's guardian, not the other way around. I was assigned to watch my brother, who would gain exceptional power for a Hand-lord every so often, to see that he never got out of hand, so to speak. But this cycle, he was too strong and broke loose of his own bonds."

Meta Knight voiced everyone's doubts. "Why would they let a psychotic being watch another being with demented power?" The others' nods signified that they had this question as well.

"I'm not really insane. After a while, it got boring, so I decided to pretend to be crazy just to have fun. It also allows me to live up to my name."

Lucario, in his first line, expressed his surprise with caution. "Your parents actually named you 'Crazy'?"

"They looked into my future and saw me acting weird. So they named me accordingly. That's not important. Only you Smashers can save this world. There are lots of innocent people and creatures on this planet that I won't be able to save in time. Plus, if you don't stop the effects of the Blue Sun, your friends and Master Hand will be gone permanently."

Squirtle looked down sadly and uttered another moan, while Dedede just laughed. "Nyuknyuk nyuk! Finally, I'll be rid of that Kirby! We should be celebrating the loss of the chubby idiot!"

"Bowser, Ganon, and Wolf are gone, too, you know," said Marth in an attempt to persuade the penguin with his friends' plight. From the looks of things, this could turn ou similar to the Subspace Emissary debacle.

"Bah, who needs those low-down losers anyway? I'll just take over their kingdoms and rule them myself!" Dedede would not be persuaded. "You guys can look for those lame fools on your own! Or better yet, you, mister "all powerful lord," can save them yourself!"

"I can't save them myself, that's the point. I can't leave the planet because I'm the one holding it together right now. Master Hand left a trail of warps in secret places all about the galaxies in case this happened. You all must travel to a land called 'Nippon' to find the only one who can make the Blue Sun normal again!"

"Bah, I don't care! I'm gonna plan my conquests now. Good luck, losers!" With that, King Dedede walked off to "plan his conquests." Like he could.

Crazy hand sighed, then said, "Are the rest of you willing to take this journey?"

"Are you kiddin'? Let's go right now! I'll lead!" Falco's confidence had returned rather quickly, but he would not be allowed his dream so easily.

"Actually, I would say that I am the most qualified to lead because of my large army," said Meta Knight, clearly letting his pride think for him.

"What? You, ya pipsqueak? I'm not going to let you run the show? Puh-leez!"

The knight and the avian argued back and forth as the onlookers sweatdropped with awkwardness and anxiety. Crazy Hand addressed Marth and Ike. "Aren't the two Generals going to be included in this?"

Marth shook his head, saying, "There's no sense in it. We all have skills to contribute, like during the Subspace incident. There was no official leader there, so why would we need one this time?"

"Very wise, Lord Lowell. Alright, you two, break it up!" The authority in the Hand-lord's voice made the two stop. "You must leave immediately and work together to find the portals. You should be ashamed of yourselves for fighting as such."

Meta Knight and Falco looked at each other, and then shook hands to signify a truce. They could sense the gravity of the situation.

"Good. Now, I have a friend who can help you. Strawberry!" At his call, a blue fox ran into the room. "My friends, this is Strawberry. She can sense the locations of the portals my brother left behind. She will be of great help on your quest."

"I am honored to meet you all," said the vixen in a smooth voice. The Smashers were taken aback by this surprising development.

"Sh-she can talk," asked Ike.

"Of course I can talk. How else would I be able to tell you the locations of the portals? I can also extend myself so that I may be used as a grappling hook. Any questions before we head out?"

"Yes, one," said Lucario. "Why are you named 'Strawberry'?"

"Because I like strawberries," answered Crazy Hand, only to be answered with awkward silence. "What? She's my creation. But go now, Smashers, and save the planet before it is too late! You only have five days and eight hours left!"

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**"Ah, I feel so happy with this. I think Strawberry will make things a little more interesting. I have to put her in my profile as an OC."**

**Falco steps in. "So, is she like Krystal or something, cuz' you coulda' just put her in instead."**

**"No, she's the size and shape of an ordinary Earth fox, except she's a beautiful shade of deep blue. Which reminds me, I have another fic in the Star Fox section, "Through the Eyes of the Young." It tells the story of Star Fox 64 through Fox and Krystal's son's eyes. It needs reviews, so please read it!"**

**"Are you done with the sappy advertising, cuz I wanna get going already!"**

**"Yes, I'm done. Ciao chow, people!"**


	3. The First Portal: Lylat

**"Sorry abut that, folks. Something odd happened or I did something wrong. Thanks to Golden-Owl for kindly pointing out the error. Here I am trying again. Now, Ike is doing the disclaimer this time, so here he is."  
**

**Ike appears from the floor. "Yeah, yeah…'Foxpilot does not own Smash Bros. or other licensed content. If he did own 'The Bros.,' Krystal and Megaman would have been in Brawl.' Am I done yet?"**

**"Yes, you're done.**

**"By the way, I read that Star Fox fic of yours. You seriously get no sympathy from me…where did you get that giant gun?"**

**"Oh this? This is "Ripoff," the plasma bazooka based off of the bazookas that half of the authors around here have. You get to meet it now." F-p fires Ripoff, planting a large plasma blast on Ike that sends him flying off screen. "Everyone's a critic. Let it…Begin!"**

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"It's that way!" Strawberry was pointing outside with a paw. The Smashers looked out the nearest window pointing in that direction and saw…

"The golf course?! Master Hand put a portal on the golf course?!" Falco was unjustifiably incredulous; he was definitely feeling better than he had been about half an hour ago.

"No one would think to look there…" At Lucario's reasoning, the other Smashers, save Falco, nodded their heads in agreement.

"Get a move on, fighters! We don't have time to lose!" The warriors were startled by Strawberry's yelling, which had come from outside. "Just jump out the window! It's on the first floor, and you guys take larger falls on a regular basis!"

The Smashers looked at each other and shrugged. Falco, being the daring one, opened the window and hopped out. The remaining fighters followed suit, with Meta Knight closing the window afterwards. When he perceived the strange looks from his compatriots, he simply said, "It is only the proper thing to do."

The Smashers followed Strawberry as quickly as they could. They often had to slow down to let Ike catch up. Eventually, Falco got upset.

"Geez, Ike! Move slower why don'tcha? It's not like we have a world to save or anything!"

Ike, though the strongest fighter in the group, was painfully slow when it came to running. This had confused many of the Smashers that lived in the mansion. Ike gave no explanation for this oddity. He refused even now, preferring to say, "Well, maybe someone could carry me. Oh wait, I'm too heavy for any of you! If you want my help, you're going to have to go at my pace."

Falco was livid by this point, but had no real comeback for this. Seeing that a fight would break out in the first fifteen minutes of their journey, Strawberry decided to step in.

"Okay you two, that's enough. Falco, we all move at our own pace. I'm faster than you are, and am being quite patient with you. Ike, you may run at your own pace, but I can't help but feel that there is an easier way for you to keep up than by being carried." Ike looked at Strawberry quizzically. "I smell rabbit on you. You have at least one rabbit hood."

Ike looked away. "I was going to save them in case we needed them later."

"Well put one on now. It'll last just long enough to get where we're going."

"Alright, fine." Ike took Strawberry's advice and put one of the strange pieces of headwear on. Where are we going anyway?"

"The portal is nearby, in that direction." Strawberry gestured with her head. "Let's go, it's not much farther!"

As they ran, Marth came up beside Falco. "I just realized, we're being lead by a talking fox."

Falco just shrugged. "Eh, I hadn't noticed. Guess I'm used to it."

Strawberry led the Smashers to the ninth hole's tee. Here she said, "The portal is between these two posts. I'm going to open it and we will step through as one." Strawberry tapped one post with her nose, then ran across the teeing area ant tapped the other one. The air was suddenly filled with crackling energy. Before the Smashers' eyes, a large field flickered into existence and solidified. The portal soon stabilized and the Smashers were staring at a large ethereal square in the middle of nowhere. Strawberry wasted no time and went through. With several looks of apprehension, the Smashers followed the vixen into the strange light.

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The music filled the room alongside the sounds of a ratchet turning a bolt. Krystal sat in the command chair, enjoying the feel of it against her back. She looked out across the bow of the ship, enjoying the view, but also pining for the starscape offered by the old _Great Fox_ (A/N: yes, this is the sucky GF from Command. It's kinda hard to explain, but it's like a thumb and the command deck is back by the engines). It was rather lonely, as she only had a couple of amphibians (A/N: ending 1: "Fox and Krystal." Slippy's fiancée, Amanda, joins the team) to keep her company. Furthermore, there was just this odd feeling that something wasn't right…

"Whew! All done." Slippy looked up from his current project: a complete overhaul of the aging robotic pilot, ROB 64. Slippy turned ROB back on and asked, "How ya feeling?"

"Much better, thank you. Those hip servos were starting to grind." Krystal cracked a smile at ROB's comment. He sounded as old as he was. And now that it was back online, ROB would provide some company other than a pair of bumbling amphibians. As much as she cared for Slippy and his beloved Amanda, she just couldn't relate to them quite as well. They preferred to perform technical duties when she was more focused on training and running the operation in Fox and Falco's absence.

Fox and Falco…Krystal gazed at the stars again, wondering where Fox and his arrogant amigo were at the moment. A little while ago, they had received invites to "Super Smash Bros. Brawl," whatever that was, and had not returned since. Fox had said it was traditional that he appeared, while Falco expressed excitement at some kind of action. Fox had apologized profusely that she "didn't make it," and that he would talk to the leader about "putting her in" next time. Krystal was left in charge, but horribly confused at the sudden invitation and subsequent departures.

"You still thinkin' about that Smash Bros. thing?" Slippy's high-pitched voice drew Krystal out of her reflection. She turned to the toad, who continued. "Don't worry about it. Fox and Falco say it's quite fun, and come back quite tired, but happy. It's a harmless party of some sort, I think."

"You're quite right, Slippy, but it's still troublesome. If it's a party, as you say, why weren't we all invited?" Krystal tried to pose the question innocently, but worry still showed on her face. The uneasy feeling was growing stronger all the time…

"I don't know. Both Fox and Falco say it's best that I don't join, but Fox seemed like he wanted you to go. Maybe—"

"Unidentified warp gate transmission coming from docking bay. One…no eight life signs are boarding _Great Fox_." ROB's warning put Krystal and Slippy on edge. How did a warp gate open in the _Great Fox_?!

A female voice came over the bridge communication line. Amanda's voice was filled with worry. "Did you say 'unidentified?' I'm heading for the armory to get some weapons! Meet me outside the hangar!"

"Wait!" Krystal's sudden cry made the three listeners freeze. "Falco's there! He's confused and distressed, but also relieved and excited. He seems to have a clear mind and is not in any pain. I'm sensing mostly confusion from the rest of them. Amanda, greet them as guests, but be cautious as well. We don't know who seven of these people are."

"Got it, Krystal. I'll go say 'hi' and make some new friends while you and Slippy make your way here."

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

The motley crew walked out onto the flight deck of the transport ship. Only Falco and Strawberry were not confused.

"We're on the _Great Fox_? There was a portal under my beak the whole time and nobody told me?"

"Well, it's not like I know where we'll pop out. My job is only to find the portals and guide you to the land of Nippon."

The door at the end of the deck slid open, revealing a moderately tall, pink, anthropomorphic amphibian. As she saw the group of Smashers and their guide, she was suddenly filled with fear. Three of the strange creatures wielded archaic weapons, wearing them openly or carrying them in their hands. There were also several creatures that stood lower to the ground: a turtle, a hedgehog, and a…fox? This fox looked like it could be Krystal's child! Oh no…

Then Amanda noticed Falco walking towards the fighters. Leave it to the space-jockey to go for the high-powered killing machines. "Falco!"

The avian turned around and saw Amanda. She was looking nervously at the main group, who had turned to see where the voice came from. Ike, Sonic, Lucario, Meta Knight, and Squirtle seemed surprised to see a giant pink frog standing in a doorway. Marth and Strawberry seemed mildly interested, but not overly surprised.

Falco strode over to the lady as casually as he could. "Amanda, how've you been? Things holdin' up alright out here? Where's Krys and Frog-boy? Amanda…?" Clearly Amanda was having trouble adjusting to the sight of so many strange creatures. "Hey, kid, don't worry about them. They're on our side. They may be a little…primitive, but they're harmless when it comes to their friends. Just don't make them mad."

Amanda turned to the blue bird in confusion. "If these are friends, why are some of them carrying weapons. That blue coyote-creature has spikes all over it, and that fox kit will probably give Krystal a heart attack! What kind of "friends" are you and Fox associating with?!"

Falco cringed. He could feel the stares of his fellow warriors on him and Amanda. This was a sticky situation; if he told Amanda that they were part of a ring of fighters, she would flip out and tell Krystal. Then Krystal would flip out that Fox was fighting against strange freaks of nature with unnatural powers. But Falco couldn't lie to Amanda; he still felt bad about the start of the "Titania Incident" all those years ago. So he did the only thing reasonable.

"Amanda, they're only weird when you don't know them. Let me introduce you." Falco walked a reluctant Amanda over to the group. "This is Ike. He's a strong mercenary swordsman from a faraway land. This guy next to him is Marth, prince of Altea and also a skilled swordsman." Falco pointed to the two in turn. Amanda seemed stunned by the fact that Marth was a prince. There hadn't been any princes in Lylat for who knows how long!

Falco continued, "The round guy here is Meta Knight. He's another swordfighter, and he has the biggest damn ship around, bigger than this one! Here we have Lucario. He's telepathic and can shoot energy from his paws. The spiky guy next to him is Sonic. He runs fast, like his name suggests. And the turtle here is called Squirtle. It has power over water, but we can't understand it without Lucario's help. He understands us, though, so be nice." Falco turned to Strawberry, who simply sat there staring. "This is Strawberry. She can sense portals in space and can act like a grappling hook, according to her--."

"I can and you may call me Straw. Berry is too common."

"Uh…yeah…anyway, you're right; she'll probably cause Krystal to go nuts."

"What will cause me to go nuts?" All eyes turned to a blue vixen entering the hangar. Her muzzle was white, and she wore a pink body suit. As she started forward, many of the Smashers looked down awkwardly. Fox had often talked about his relationship with the telepath, and they knew that telling her would be difficult at best.

Krystal surveyed the room, taking in the odd creatures before her. Two balding apes with archaic weaponry, a dwarf hedgehog, an even smaller turtle, an odd coyote with spikes, a giant ball with a spiked sword, and…

Krystal's eyes widened in shock. Sitting on her haunches right in front of her was a small fox, clearly a kit. What was striking was not that she wore no clothes, which made Krystal all the more surprised, but her coat was a beautiful shade of blue.

Just like Krystal's.

But…it was impossible! Krystal was the only survivor of her planet's destruction. And yet, here was a young child, no older than three, sitting on the landing deck if their ship. She was clearly sentient. Could it be that there were more survivors of Cerinia?

Krystal started forward slowly, a look of confusion on her face and tears in her eyes; tears of sorrow for her lost planet and tears of joy that she was not quite as alone as she had thought. At length, she picked up the small vixen and hugged her close, slipping into the tongue of her people in an attempt to comfort the child.

"I appreciate your concern for my well-being, but I'm afraid you mistake me for something I'm not. I hate to break this to you, but…I'm…not from your home planet. I just happen to be a blue fox. Please put me down now."

Krystal pulled away in shock. This fox was not Cerinian? Furthermore, the voice she had spoken with was quite adult. Krystal put Strawberry down sadly, shame at her own emotions and long-buried distress for her people clearly written on her face. "I-I'm sorry, I just thought…"

"It is quite alright. I understand being alone among the worlds. Now, please dry your eyes, miss, so that we may explain the situation properly."

Krystal quickly cleared her head, stuffing the memories of her past life and the pain of her people's loss back in the box she kept for them. She could feel that something was wrong and this was not the time to wallow in self-pity. After taking a moment to clear her head, Krystal realized what exactly was bugging her. "It's nice to meet all of you, but…where's Fox?"

Her enquiry was met with an awkward silence. Nobody wanted to break the news that Fox had gone missing. Eventually, Krystal caught a snippet of thought from one of the Smashers, just enough to know the horrid truth.

"N-no…no! Where is he?! WHERE IS HE?!" Krystal's sudden outburst took everyone by surprise. Once again, tears filled the taller vixen's eyes as she realized that this wasn't a pleasure trip, but a search party.

"What's going on?" At this point, Slippy had finally managed to enter the hangar. Being timid as well as the slowest at running, he had taken his sweet time in arriving. Krystal turned to the short toad and cried out.

"Fox is missing!" Slippy was amazed at her reaction. Not too long ago, she had hated Fox's guts with her whole being. Now, she was acting as though her world had been destroyed again. Slippy was caught between his want to help and his own grief. Fox had been his good friend since grade school. Eventually, Slippy just placed a hand on Krystal's shoulder and mourned with her. To them, Fox was already dead.

"Geez Laweeze, enough already!" Falco was never particularly sensitive to emotions. "Fox ain't gonna let himself be killed that easy. We're on our way to find him, so cheer up! Look, Straw here can sense doorways to the next part of our hunt, and we have to get going." Falco turns to Strawberry and asks, "Where's the next portal, anyway?"

Strawberry looks at Falco with a sort of condescension. "The next portal is far off in that general direction," she indicates with a paw, "and we need transportation. But we can't all just take your fighters because you and your friends are the only ones who know how to fly them. We need the help of these fine folks to get to wherever the portal lies." Strawberry points to the sobbing Krystal and wailing Slippy, both of whom are being comforted by a distraught Amanda. "You know them best, maybe you should help them."

"Sheesh, fine! I'll try to make them feel better, okay?" Falco goes over to encourage his teammates about Fox's state of being.

During this, Sonic had turned to Marth, the only present veteran of the Smash Bros. not part of Star Fox. "Are they always like this?"

"I have only known Fox and Falco before the Brawl season. They seemed more like rough-and-tumble guys, so I thought the whole team was like that. I guess I was wrong."

"We should help Falco console his friends so that we may move on." Meta Knight's suggestion was met with nods and murmurs of ascension. The Smashers converged around the group of pilots, all regaling the distraught mercenaries with tales of Fox's heroism and strength.

Eventually, they were able to calm the three upset space-warriors. As they looked at their new friends gratefully, ROB's voice came over the intercom.

"Warning! Two ships approaching the _Great Fox_! They are identified as Star Wolf members!"

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**"Okay, there is a lot to cover in this chapter. First, they will be going through different worlds, technically making this a multi-crossover. But it will focus on the Smashers. Second, at the end of Star Fox: Assault, the _Great Fox_ was destroyed, leading to the purchase of a new ship. This ship is terrible. Go to "Arwingpedia" to see a model of it. Next, yes Slippy has a lady, a fiancée no less. She is a pink frog or toad that is far larger than Slippy. Now, I based the team off of the "first" ending in Star Fox: Command because I like that ending and is likely to end up being canon in my opinion. Lastly, Krystal is Fox's love interest. She was a real b**** in Command because Fox kicked off the team. In this ending, Fox sees his foolishness, Krystal stops being mean and gets back together with Fox, and Amanda joins the team. Krystal is also a survivor of the destruction of her home planet, Cerinia. It is implied that she is the last Cerinian, as well. So imagine the joy and surprise she would get from seeing another Cerinian. It must suck having that stripped away as well.**

**"In conclusion, this chapter was a laden with information for people "in-the-know." Next chapter will have less of that, and further chapters will have even less because I am most fanatical about Star Fox. I'm going to have to do some research for some worlds to keep things somewhat accurate.**

**"Now, for some reason, I noticed that last chapter didn't get reviews. I must ask, WHY? On second thought, don't answer that. Just remember, all criticism is allowed, but flames are just nasty. Be critical, but be fair. And leave a review so that the story can be better.**

**"This has taken way too long, so ciao chow, everyone."**


	4. Woes of Lylat

**"Well hello, class. Today, we will be learning about how the values of pi, _e_, and omnicron are used when particle accelerators exp—." A stagehand comes up and whispers in Foxpilot's ear. "What? Whaddaya mean that this isn't a college class on insanity? Are you insinuating that I'm teaching without a license? If so, you're crazy! Right, but crazy!" The stagehand whispers again. "I know the microphone's on! I'm purposefully trying to look like a nutjob to embarrass you and up my standing! Now get on outta here." The stagehand leaves.**

**"Sorry, people. I was wrong. Wasn't the first time and won't be the last. Anyway, I would like to once again thank Golden-Owl for pointing out that uploading mistake from last chapter. I will try not to do that again. Also, I'm glad you learned something Frederic Marile. I hope to keep impressing you and everyone else.**

**"This chapter is longer than usual and the first one to involve real fighting action. As such, I have a real fighter to do the disclaimer. Snake, if you please?"**

**The soldier mentioned appears on stage as he deactivates his camouflage. "'Foxpilot does not own Smash Bros. If he did…' That's all it says."**

**"I know, I did that purposefully. Goodbye, Snake. We will meet again. Now!" Foxpilot presses a button and hidden C4 beneath Snake explodes and sends him flying out through the roof. "Ah, explosions…always fun. Okay, people. Let it…Begin!"**

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"Star Wolf?!" Slippy's outburst drew the eyes of the people in the room to him, many filled with questions. Falco took it upon himself to explain as only he could.

"No time to explain! We'll tell you guys later after we grind these scumbags into space dust! Slippy, Krystal, Amanda! C'mon, let's go already!" By this point Falco had reached one of the models of his ship, the _Sky Claw_, and was climbing into the cockpit. The other Star Fox pilots followed suit: Krystal to her _Cloud Runner_, Amanda to her _Tadpole_, and Slippy to his _Bullfrog_.

The Smashers moved to the back of the hangar to let the fighters take off. One by one, the customized ships blasted out of the large hangar, leaving ruffled hair and clothes in their wake. Strawberry had a suggestion.

"Let us make our way to the bridge. We will be out of the way there, and we can watch the battle." The small fox darted out through a door, seeming to know where she was going. The others followed suit out of curiosity, interest, and fear of being left behind.

SFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSF

"Ah, Krystal, we meet again. Panther was worried that you had run off and left Panther alone. Yet you have stayed here, safe and in a place where Panther could find you again. This is heartening to know."

"Stuff it, cat. Why are you two here, anyway? The stupid puppy that leads you is out of town for a while, right? Didn't he give you orders to stay and pretend to be guard dogs or somethin'? You shouldn't be here. Now get goin' before we blast you!" Falco's reply reminded his teammates that he had a somehow managed to maintain a rivalry with all three of the Star Wolf members. But Falco had brought up a good point. Wolf's Wolfen wasn't present at the moment. Was he lying in wait or circling the _Great Fox's_ scanners to ambush them?

"How did you know he wasn't here, you impudent bird?" Leon's nails-on-the-chalkboard voice conveyed the fact that even the rival mercenaries had picked up on Falco's observation.

"Hey, yeah, Falco. How did you know he wasn't here?" Slippy's own high-pitched voice showed that the Star Fox pilots had not only noticed Wolf's absence, but had encountered their opponents since Falco and Fox had left. Falco realized he had said too much.

"Uh…he's…with us at the Smash Bros. place. Let me tell you, he's no fun."

"You know about the Smash Bros.? Maybe you can tell Panther why he wasn't invited before Panther destroys you."

"Mr. Panther, I think you should be quiet. We beat you last time you came here and we'll beat you even easier now that Falco's back." Amanda had always been optimistic, which had been excellent in lightening the mood aboard the _Great Fox_. Falco might not have admitted it, but it was a nice break in the tension while the resident "furry lovebirds" reconciled their arguments.

"Yeah, pipe down so we can kick your asses back to whatever hole you crawled out of," Falco exclaimed. "Now are you here to fight or just fill space with your hot air?"

"Make me mad and your life's as good as gone. Now bow before the great Panther's might!"

"I've had enough of you, bird! Your torture will be slow and painful before I roast you and spread your remains across space!"

"Bring it, Leon! Krystal, Slippy, Amanda, take care of kitty-litter while I bring down Leon!" The formation of four ships was quick to split and engage their enemies. As the fighters approached one another, Krystal remembered something important.

"Guys! Their ships have been modified in ways other than just looks. Panther has a ridiculously powerful laser on his ship and Leon's got a weapon that can hit all four of us at once!"

"Heh, guess your time with Star Wolf paid off for us after all. Thanks for the update, Krys!"

"Falco that was mean, take that back. You know how Krystal feels about that incident!"

"A-Amanda, don't worry about it right now. Your lock-on will be useful for taking out Panther. I'm sending you all shield data on the two of them now!" As Slippy said this, the scan data he had taken of their opponents appeared on everyone's heads-up display. A quick glance revealed he names of the ships and their shield strengths. Panther's fighter, the _Black Rose_, had shields about equal to those of Falco's _Sky Claw_ while Leon's _Rainbow Delta_ had defenses rivaling Slippy's _Bullfrog_. What was interesting was that the _Rainbow Delta_ had about twice as much shield strength as Panther's ship.

The squad of Star Fox fighters broke to engage their targets. Falco went left and drew the _Rainbow Delta_ away from the others. A weapon that targeted all of the ships at once would be devastating to a group.

Falco and Leon were soon flying wingtip to wingtip, each contemplating their next move. Falco was aware that his ship had half the defense of Leon's, but from what he had heard from Krystal a little after the Anglar incident, Leon had come to rely on his machine too much and had fallen out of flying practice. This gave Falco an edge that he could rely on. Furthermore, Falco felt as though his skills had been sharpened, almost as though the sheer thrill of being back in the _Sky Claw_ fighter was giving him a boost in ability.

The two fighter pilots broke their ranks. Leon pulled a loop while Falco swerved to port, each trying to get in the other's blind spot. Falco ended up with the advantage; as Leon leveled off at the end of his loop, Falco turned and began to get a lock on Leon's ship with the _Sky Claw_'s amazing Multi Lock system. Once the laser reached maximum charge, Falco fired the shot. Leon did a short roll and deflected the energy-laden bolt into deep space.

Across the star field, Panther had managed to get behind Slippy. His cannon, the marvelous Zapper, was shaving Slippy's previously formidable shields down one shot at a time. Slippy tried a loop, but Panther, being a superior pilot, stayed with him the entire time. However, Slippy managed to stay out of the line of fire during his inversion. As Panther came out of his loop, he realized he was being targeted by Amanda. His instincts kicked in as Amanda fired the shot from a distance. Using his innate talent and tolerance for difficult maneuvers to his advantage, Panther went into a long roll, deflecting Amanda's shot and showing off at once. Panther ended the long roll to regain his composure, grinning from ear to ear despite the nausea settled in his belly from the roll.

"HAHAHA! Panther laughs at your pathetic attempt at—OOF!" Panther was jolted forward as a fully-charged laser blast hit him from behind. Looking down at his radar, Panther found that he was being tailed by Krystal, who had bided her time and worked in conjunction with her teammates to slice a neat three-fourths of Panther's shields off with one shot. "Krystal, my sweet, why do you fight Panther? Surely he can offer more than your former team can."

Krystal allowed a small grin to light her face before responding. "Panther, _Star Wolf_ is my "former team" now. You had your chance, but it wouldn't have worked out anyway. Now that I think about it, I would rather go rogue than be with you!" Krystal didn't know where this bravado had come from. She felt more confident and more able than she had in a long time…possibly ever! What's more, she felt a similar sensation from Falco. Maybe it was the joy they felt at their reunion?

On the bridge of the _Great Fox_, the Smashers watched the battle, wincing when they saw that Falco had let Leon slip behind him. The fighters, being mostly land-bound, felt mostly helplessness at the situation. Each was a warrior in their own right and wished to help. It was Sonic who broke the tense silence.

"Did Fox ever mention anything to any of you about Krystal working for Wolf?" The Smashers pondered the question for a moment. Fox had often spoken highly of the telepathic team member, but had rarely mentioned anything about negatives. Meta Knight was the first to come up with something.

"Fox never told anyone about this, but Wolf told me once after he lost to Fox once that Krystal had worked under him. I didn't pay attention at the time because I thought he was just trying to spread a rumor, but now that Falco's confirmed it, I think that I am glad that I didn't tell anyone else."

Marth, who was always sensitive to others' wills, said, "We should probably keep this to ourselves. If Fox had wanted mentioned that his girlfriend had flown with his well-known rival, he would have told us himself." This was met with nods of ascent from the others present, excluding ROB. A scream for help drew them back to the battle at hand.

Amanda had just taken a hit from a shot launched by Leon, who had accidentally lined her up while targeting Falco. Leon's weapon found opponents automatically and fired when it could sense no more. As such, when Amanda had flown just inside the targeting range of the gun, she had found herself surprised by a shot. While the shot was weak when compared to the charged shots of the other fighters with lock-on capabilities, it had distracted Amanda enough to allow Panther to slip behind her and remove another large percentage of her shields. Now down to about half and pursued by a relentless foe, Amanda found herself in dire straits.

Slippy and Krystal were immediately after Panther. Slippy wouldn't dare fire for fear of hitting Amanda since he didn't have a targeting mechanism, but Krystal's _Cloudrunner_ was equipped for the job. Once the targeting had locked on a finishing shot, she released. Panter rolled, sending the shot back towards Krystal out of sheer luck. Krystal pulled up and broke from the pursuit to dodge, while Panther's clear head allowed him to snap off a blast at Amanda. The bolt scored a hit, leaving Amanda with only about one-sixth of her original shield strength. In desperation, she swerved in a circular pattern, doing all she could to stay out of Panther's sights. As Amanda pulled a quick ninety-degree turn to the right, Slippy saw his chance and started to assail Panther's ship with is Plasma cannons. While not nearly as strong as The _Black Rose_'s Zapper, the lasers were the strongest among the ships of Star Fox. Panther took a hit before going into a roll. This deflected Slippy's fire every which-way until Panther pulled a loop.

Panther was filled with triumph. Once he had finished this somersault, he would be behind the short booger-like toad and put his ship out of commission then he would go after the frog's fiancée--.

He didn't get the chance. The problem with the current generation of fighters was that they couldn't roll while they were inverted. As Panther began to descend behind the _Bullfrog_, he was startled by a klaxon. Looking at his HUD, he was surprised to see that his shields were down to nothing and he was leaking fuel. A look at the radar showed that Krystal, who had backed off previously, had used the weakness inherent in all current fighters to a cunning advantage and had finished Panther's defenses, effectively killing him if he didn't leave. "How can this be!? Panther has been defeated! He must back off!" Panther broke off his attack on Slippy and pointed his broken ship towards the center of the system, lumbering off towards whatever base was around.

"Yay, Krystal! Thanks, I thought he had me!" Slippy's voice was filled with gratitude, making Krystal glad she had studied the current fighter designs while she was with…better not to think about those times right now. Falco still needed help.

Meanwhile, the avian in question had indeed been struggling against Leon. Each had managed to knock about half of the others' shields off, but Leon was tailing Falco at the moment. Falco, who was a little better than Panther when it came to flight, had managed to perform a long roll to avoid the _Rainbow Delta_'s cannon. But he could feel his limit being reached.

Falco broke into a weave as he ended his roll to try and recover while staying out of Leon's targeting range. Unfortunately, the area of sensing seemed to be just about anywhere in front of Leon. As Falco's shields reached critical, he tried a sudden loop. This pulled him out of Leon's range for a moment, but Leon followed. Falco would have to do something fast.

Falco was hit by inspiration. Using his superior skill and tenacity, as well as his ship's powerful braking system, he pulled his loop tighter and inverted again. The forces crushed Falco into his seat despite the special G-Diffusers on either side of the _Sky Claw_'s cockpit. As Falco thought he would lose either his consciousness or his lunch, he felt an increase in strength, not unlike the rush he had felt earlier. This allowed him to power through his trial and end up behind Leon. Despite being nearly blacked out, Falco opened fire on Leon. As his focus returned, he noticed that his shots were wearing down the _Rainbow Delta_. Leon's first choice of defense was to roll, but his personal limits were far below Falco's. Falco scored a number of hits as Leon was coming out of the roll. Then Leon tried a desperate loop in a bid to get behind Falco

As Falco followed suit, he heard a Amanda over the radio system. "Don't worry, Falco! We're on our way."

"Hey, don't worry! Leave this lizard to me! I'm taking him down once and for all!" Falco accentuated this remark by coming out of the somersault behind Leon and pouring fire into his shields. Leon tried a u-turn next, but Falco was ready for him. The blue bird of owning stayed behind his target, slowly shaving Leon's shields down to nothing. Eventually, a shot pierced the hull of the _Delta_ and fried some electrical systems. Leon began to lose control and was forced to admit defeat.

"Huh? Me, ME?! You will pay for this, bird! I will return and I will get my revenge!" With these parting words, Leon struggled to move his craft in-system on the same heading as Panther. A moment of silence ensued before cheers of victory and congratulations filled the radio waves around the _Great Fox_.

SFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSF

"So, Falco, I think it's time you tell us what's going on exactly." Krystal's gaze seemed to pierce the blue avian's soul. They were sitting in the cruiser's lounge along with most of the Smashers and Star Fox crew. Strawberry was up at the bridge guiding ROB towards the next gate. According to the current star charts of Lylat, they were headed for the desert planet Titania.

Falco sighed in defeat, knowing that Krystal wouldn't be satisfied with anything but the truth. She would also sense if he was holding back, so keeping the fighting aspect from her would be out of the question. Falco raised his head and launched into his explanation.

"The Super Smash Bros. is a…a fighting competition." Falco winced, waiting for Krystal to put two and two together. The effect was immediate, as Krystal realized that Fox, _her_ Fox, was fighting in secret. Falco hurried his explanation before the vixen across the table could explode. "It's perfectly safe. We have a system that keeps us from being permanently hurt and a doctor in the event of an emergency or if someone becomes sick. It's fine!" Krystal seemed to calm down a little at this.

"Anyway, this is apparently the third time the leader, an alien named Master Hand, has hosted one of these. Two were before you joined the team, and the third one started just a little while ago. I don't know why he didn't invite you. Maybe he didn't know you or he didn't want a telepath fighting. I dunno. Anyway, about a day ago, this celebration started that marked the anniversary of Master Hand creating the world we fight on or somethin'. During this, he gains a great amount of power. Supposedly, he lost control of all this power this time and sucked up a bunch of the fighters with him. Only me, Sonic, Ike, Marth, Lucario, Squirtle, Meta Knight, a fat penguin named Dedede, and Master hand's brother were left. The brother, Crazy Hand, is keeping the planet from falling apart, so he sent us along to find this place called Nippon where we gotta find someone's mom, who can apparently help. Crazy sent Straw along with us because she can sense the portals Master Hand left behind in the event of something like this."

Krystal remained silent throughout Falco's explanation, taking in everything the avian had to say. Once Falco had finished his speech, she sat up straight and began to speak. "A fighting contest, huh? And Fox has been in all of the generations, right? Well, it certainly explains a few things, like why Fox was so awkward at leaving and why he said it was "traditional." But, now some of your new friends are missing and you need help finding them?" Krystal's odd combination of bitterness and understanding caught Falco off guard. He'd figured that Krystal wouldn't be happy with the news, but he wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Krystal grinned at the avian, then at the Smashers, who were watching the exchange intently. "I see now why Fox wanted to keep it a secret. All right, we'll help you get to the portal you need so badly. But you have to save Fox and this Master Hand you speak so highly of. How long do you have?"

Lucario spoke up this time. His Aura had slowly become accustomed to the time patterns of the Smash world and he could tell about how long was left before catastrophe was imminent. "We have about six days and five hours in the Smash planet's time before we are too late. Also, it is moot to say we have your help when you are already helping us." The others in the room agreed.

Soon, ROB made an announcement over the _Great Fox_'s intercom system. "Now approaching planet Titania. Strawberry indicates that there is a portal among the ruins in the northern hemisphere. We will be above that location in ten minutes."

SFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSFSF

The Smashers waved goodbye to the _Great Fox_ as it lifted off and flew towards space. The gesture was rather useless, as the crew aboard the massive ship couldn't see the figures below. As the large cruiser became a small dot in the clear sky of Titania, Ike decided to break the mood.

"So, if that's the _Great Fox_, what's the ship in the Lylat Cruise and Corneria stages?"

"That one was destroyed at by old man Peppy and the aparoids at the end of the aparoid invasion. You can check out the trophy once we get back." Falco strode forward towards the ruins ahead. An entrance was visible through the light dust storm. "Is the warp in there?"

Strawberry came up beside the bird. "Yes, I sense that the portal is not too far inside. I suspect that we can pretty much just walk straight up and open it. I suggest we don't delay any--." Strawberry was cut off as claws shot out from underneath the sand. "Wha-what?!"

The four claws formed a circle and began to strain, lifting something from beneath the loose dirt. Soon, the group was face-to-face with a large, green, skeletal creature about 100 feet tall. Falco recognized it instantly.

"The Golas?! But we killed that thing! Twice! How the hell is it still running around?"

"I sense much anger and malice from the creature. It is going to attack!" Lucario's prediction was spot on. The Golas slammed one of its arms down where the Smashers were. The arm missed, but the shock sent each fighter in a different direction. Falco, the only one who knew what to do, took the lead.

"We need to take out its arms! Then we can get to its heart! Meta Knight, you and I have the best jumps, so help me take out the upper arms. Marth, Ike, go for the lower arms! Lucario, charge an aura sphere: ranged attacks will be really helpful. Sonic, keep that thing distracted!"

"Squirtle squirt squirt squirtle squir?" The turtle-like Pokémon wanted to help, too. Marth had an idea.

"Squirtle, use your Water Gun attack to make the sand at its feet wet. That way, it will get bogged down and be slower." Squirtle seemed pleased at this and began to charge its attack. Soon, the large creature was bogged down in warm mud. Unfortunately, they had not taken into account that Sonic was running around that area in an attempt to keep the Golas distracted. Sonic began to sink into the mud puddle before finally slipping and falling face-first into the gritty muck. Before he could get up, the immense skeleton slammed one of its lower arms down onto his body, pinning the hedgehog in place.

The others were faring a little better. Meta Knight had managed to fly up to one of the Golas' arms and began cutting away at the structure. Bone was falling off in chunks and the arm already had a large gash from where Meta Knight had masterfully slashed. Falco had managed to grab on to the other higher arm and was doing his best to rip it apart using brute strength. But the bone was more resistant to feathers than to a sword and Falco was quickly thrown off.

Ike had used his Aether attack to cut up the Golas' lower right arm from below, but he, too had gotten stuck in the mud made by Squirtle. Marth knew that his plan had backfired, as at this point three of the fighters were stuck in the sand, including Marth himself. He had gone to try and help Sonic, but Squirtle's continual Water Gun blasts had turned the dirt beneath him from sand to mud to a quicksand-like substance that impeded the movement of all that was trapped inside. Marth craned his neck to see if he could find the blue rodent under the claws of the monstrocity, but the whole hand had sunk deep into the quagmire. Marth hurried his pace as much as he could, but feared he was too late.

A resounding wet _thump_ was heard off towards Ike. The Smashers took a quick look to register that Meta Knight had cut through his arm and was now aiming to help Falco. A look slightly below showed that Ike had nearly finished cutting through his arm, though the mercenary was heavily weighed down by wet sand.

Marth struggled to the arm, which seemed stuck in the mud. Knowing that Sonic probably didn't have much time left, he took a breath and dove. His aim was true and he found the claws of the Golas wrapped in a tight grip. Surfacing for air, Marth took a breath before setting on the clawed appendage. Going by human anatomy, Marth struck where he thought a tendon would lie. This was just below the surface of the sand, making the stab tougher than it already was. Marth's clothes were royally ruined by the muck, but he had seen worse days when fighting for Altea's freedom. What mattered now was Sonic's survival.

Marth struck again and again, driving the point of Falchion as deep as he could push it. A loud _crack_ gave Marth hope for a moment, but it had come from behind him. Looking back, he took in the situation with the mind of a master strategist.

Ike had just finished off the arm he was cutting and was being helped out by Strawberry, who had craned her neck out to an impossible length to grab the ragged fighter by the cape and was helping him get to the edge of the pit. Squirtle had collapsed from exhaustion; the poor turtle had given its all for Marth's double-edged order. Falco was just hauling himself out of the mud and seemed to be preparing for something. Meta Knight was flying around the Golas' head, keeping it busy until the other Smashers were safe. The Golas in turn was firing lasers from its one available hand at the armored ball, but Meta Knight expertly avoided the blasts. Lucario was nowhere to be…no, it was climbing the Golas' ribs in a n attempt to get an early shot at the beast's weak heart area. This turned out to be a mistake, as the bone creature took the Pokémon up in its hand and threw it far out to its left. Lucario had a rear-end collision with the sand and lay there. It's Aura seemed to flare desperately.

Marth turned back to the claw in front of him. Cracks were forming along the arm bones, showing weakness. Marth drew back one more time and stabbed with all his might. The claw finally broke off, allowing Marth to move the hand. It was surprisingly light weight. A roar brought everyone's attention to the towering beast. It had been freed from its entrapment and was preparing to attack the Altean with the stub of its arm. As the half-appendage came down on Marth, the young general did the best thing he could at the moment: prepare a counter.

Marth's idea worked. The arm was deflected off the flat of Falchion's blade and the prince delivered a powerful counterstrike. The sheer power the Golas had put into the swing was magnified enough to slice through the bone and shatter it up to the shoulder. The Golas, though injured, was undeterred by this development. Knowing that there wasn't much time left, Marth turned back to the half-loose hand. Pulling as hard as he could, Marth got up out of the sand and used his entire weight to tilt the hand over, palm up.

The hand didn't come out of the sand completely, but it exposed several blue spikes that were soon pushing themselves up out of the mud. Sonic sat up, spluttering and gasping for air. He turned to Marth and offered a cheesy "thank you" grin. "Just in time, I had dug an air hole, but the air was almost out. Thanks."

"Need a hand?" The voice startled the two laden Smashers, who whirled their heads to see who had called. Ike was standing at the edge of the pit with Strawberry. Both were quite sandy and looked like they needed a shower. We can get you both out at once, then we can finish this brute. Marth and Sonic accepted gladly. Stawberry extended her neck forward, clamping down on Marth's cape with her teeth. Sonic took Marth's offered hand and the two were dragged by the fox and the mercenary to the edge of the sandy swamp.

"Finally! Hey, Meta, get down here so we can finish this!" At Falco's call, the rotund flyer soared back towards Falco and landed out of range of the Golas' grip. The others, all being short-range fighters, backed off as well. Falco then performed a taunt. Balancing on one leg, Falco extended a feathered hand forward and beckoned to the creature. "Don't try me!"

The Golas immediately lashed out with its one remaining claw. Seeing the Smashers out of range, it went for the other option left to it: lasers. The monster prepared to fire at the avian, who warned, "get ready, cuz' once this arm blows, it's gonna fire a really powerful laser from its chest!" The Golas then opened fire.

At the last instant, Falco kicked out his customized Reflector, reflecting the beams back at their source. The lasers blew off the remaining hand, which exploded into sections. The creature howled with pain as it's chest, with the "locks" removed, burst open to reveal the tender heart.

Strawberry threw out her neck in an attempt to snatch the organ from its resting place, but her snout met with the Golas' head, which had dipped to protect the organ. The mouth had started to glow a moment earlier, and now the creature reared its cranium back and fired a high-pitched energy beam at the attacking force. "Scatter!!"

The team didn't need to hear Marth's advice to know to run. Fanning out in different directions, each fighter did their best to run. Sonic realized that the beam was following him and decided to have some fun. Sonic ran around outside of the beams arc and behind the Golas, appearing on the creature's left. Sonic then taunted "You're too slow!"

The creature heard him and pivoted its neck to blast Sonic with the beam. As it did, a bright, glowing blue sphere slammed into the creature's head, ending the beam and knocking the cranium to the side. Sonic looked back to see Lucario, hands burning with intense Aura, glowering angrily. "Now!"

Strawberry didn't hesitate at Lucario's order. Reaching out before the enormous creature could recover, she latched onto the heart and pulled with all her might. Her frame shook with the effort, but the vixen managed to pull the heart out of the chest of the behemoth and, dragging the body with it, pulled the organ down to the Smashers' levels.

Lucario and Sonic, being closest, wasted no time beating on the pulsating mass with all their might. They were joined by Meta Knight, Falco, Marth, and then Ike. Finally, Ike charged an Eruption and jabbed Ragnell into the Golas' organ, setting it on fire and causing the entire creature to explode. Heat and bone rained everywhere around the Smashers, who were singed and battered mercilessly. The assault soon passed, and the fighters were left standing, burned, beaten, sandy, and alive.

Great cheers of joy rang through the sands of Titania as the Smashers celebrated their hard-earned victory. As the cheers died down, Sonic couldn't help but note, "You all made a plan while I was under the ground, didn't you?"

"Most of us," replied Falco. "Sorry, but you, Marth, and Squirtle were all usy being beaten at the time." This left Sonic to fume.

Stopping the outburst before it could form in Sonic's mind, Strawberry brought up an excellent point. "We have to move on. Hopefully the next world will have a place to rest. We all need it." The Smashers looked down at the vixen, agreeing in their own ways. Skirting the mud pit and the ruins of the Golas, they made their way inside of the temple-like structure, towards the gateway to their next destination.

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

**"WHEW! Finally done. This chapter took so much time because I was lazy, but also because of the two high-energy action scenes that took place. Sorry. Alright, time to explain.**

**"First, the fighters are based off of those in SF: Command. Star Fox's fighters are based off of the Arwings and Star Wolf's birds are derived from the Wolfens."**

**"Whaddaya mean, 'birds?'"**

**"Figure of speech, Falco. Second, the Golas is a sand creature from the time on Titania when there was an ancient civilization. The civilization died out, but the Golas, more commonly known as 'Goras,' is…er, was still alive. Fox beat it in SF: 64, but it came back in the SF: Adventures prequel manga, 'Farewell, Beloved Falco.' We don't know it was revived by a mad scientist or was a different creature, but it doesn't matter (for my part, I think it was revived). This Golas was also revived, which will be explained whenever I can figure it out myself.**

**"Third and least importantly, Star Wolf's quotes are heavily derived from real in-game speech, but I threw in my own twists. Not that anyone cares about this explanation piece. Ah well, too bad.**

**"Now, for those of you who are interested in romance, I'm in Pikana's contest. My next update for Smash Bros. will probably be for my entry, 'The Bruiselike Couple.' Check it out if you have time. Also, Star Fox fans, if you haven't already, look up the Falco manga. It explains a lot of what I'm talking about, and if you find an English version, it's a pretty good read.**

**"Ciao chow, people."**


	5. The Second Portal: Pop Star

**"Hey, Marth, where's Foxpilot? He's supposed to be here to start the story."**

**"Well, Sonic, he was in his room last I checked, listening to some theme from Star Fox: Assault and didn't want to be bothered. I think he's upset about the weather."**

**"Yeah, it's too wet. But, SF: Assault? Seriously? That's like the Star Fox version of my 2006 game!"**

**"Don't let him hear you say that. He likes that game and is a big fan of the series. But he did say that we should do the start up. So…" Marth turns to the audience. "On behalf of Foxpilot, I would like to thank you all for your kind reviews. Hawktakesflight and LxZrulez, thank you for your kindness about the fight scenes; those were fun to write and Foxpilot looks forward to writing even more! And Mark of the Asphodel, thank you for your kind advice. Foxpilot will be sure to keep author's notes to the beginning and end of chapters from now on, as well as be on the lookout for Word changing his ideas. Sonic, you writing any of this down?"**

**"No. What do you take me for, a tape recorder? Besides, we're on camera! The 'big guy' can just watch this garbage later. For now, though, Foxpilot does not own Smash Bros. If he did, he would have made me the best character!"**

**"No, he would have made Fox the best character. Also, part of the reason I am so 'in character' is because Foxpilot has Shadow Dragon. But that's enough for now. What is his phrase again?"**

**"Let it…Begin!"**

**"Thank you, Sonic"**

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

As the team entered the ruins of the former Titanian culture, Strawberry asked the ever-important question. "How is everyone doing?"

Marth answered first. "My clothes are dirty, but I'm used to it. Other than that, I'm fine."

Meta Knight came next. "I have no problems. Galaxia needs to be sharpened, though."

"I've got sand everywhere: in my shoes, in my fur, in my…everywhere! Plus, my back hurts from being pressed on for so long."

"Quit complaining, Sonic. A little rest will do you fine. I, too, have sand in my fur, but I'm not complaining. What is more pressing is that I need some food or a potion. That creature's throw is nothing to laugh at." Lucario rubbed it's backside, which clearly had been punished by the rough landing the Pokémon had received at the hands of the Golas.

"I think we could all use some food. And a dry-cleaner. These jackets don't come cheap, ya know!" Despite the arrogant tone that Falco took, the Smashers who wore clothes agreed. They each had only one set, after all.

"I think that we all need to take a break when we get to the next world if given the chance. Besides, Squirtle's not doing so well." Ike looked down at the blue tortoise in his hands. The tired turtle had fallen asleep. While it had not actually taken damage, the creature had expended almost all of its expansive water supply, leaving the turtle in need of, above all else, something to drink, as well as plenty of rest.

Strawberry licked her chops, which still had flesh on it from the Golas' heart. "I believe Ike has a fair point. When we get to the next world, our first priority will be to find lodging. Then we can get cleaned up, eat, and take a rest." This suggestion was met with firm agreements. It's not easy to take out a giant skeleton on foot, even in a group.

Strawberry began scenting the ruins, which looked like a cross between an altar and a tomb. In the middle of the enormous room was a large slab of rock, raised above the floor by a number of smaller stones underneath. Around the ancient makeshift shrine were four posts, each at ninety degrees to the other. This formed a sort of diamond shape in the center of the room. The floor had a large number of raised stones laid out in a rough pattern of concentric circles. If one were to look from far above, it would look like the altar was giving off sound pulses.

Most disturbing were the walls. The four sides of the pyramidal structure seemed to be covered in panels. Some had come loose, revealing skeletons of long-dead creatures inside. Based on the smell of the room, at least one of these slabs had fallen recently. Perhaps the Golas' explosion had been more powerful than the Smashers thought.

"Man, what is this place? I bet some freaky things went on in here." Sonic wasn't the only one who was curious. As Strawberry seemed to draw closer to the portal, Marth went over to Falco to learn more about the strange building.

"So, what _was_ this building used for, anyway? It looks and smells like a place to bury the dead. I hope that our trespasses may be forgiven for our quest."

Falco shrugged. "I dunno, but I guess you're right. This place is pretty depressing. Lylat's scientists are still working out a lot of things on this planet. But don't worry about curses or whatever. This place has been dead since long before space flight was big on Corneria. Everything'll be fine." Marth smiled gratefully; he was glad that Falco's confidence wasn't shaken.

A yelp from across the room startled the bird and the swordsman. They turned around to see the others gathered in front of a portal that was suspended between two of the pillars around the altar. Strawberry was looking at them meaningfully. "If you two are done enjoying the scenery, let's go! I get cranky when I'm tired!" Falco muttered something about that being obvious before going over to the portal. Marth glanced around one more time before joining the rest of the Smashers as they entered the gateway to the next area.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Green hills and rolling plains stretched for miles around. On one side, far in the distance, was a large wooded region. The Waddle Dee looked to its left, to its companion. The two had received a message from their great and powerful "king" that he would be returning soon. This may have been the last break the two creatures would have in a long time…

The two red-brown orbs turned and walked back towards the palace that had been behind them for some time. If the king was coming home, they would need to clean the castle, wash the dishes, cook the food—a lot of food—and prepare for the generally demoralizing presence that the giant penguin would bring with him. The two exchanged glances, confirming that they were thinking the same thing. Why in all of Pop Star did they follow Dedede?

A loud, crackling static sound from the right brought the two thinking figures back to the pasture. The two Waddle Dees looked and saw a bright light expand not more than twenty feet away. After forming a square that was approximately ten feet to a side, the light stopped and the crackling cut off, leaving a soothing, natural-sounding hum in its place. As the two Dees approached the mysterious light, a small blue creature of four legs popped out. The creature turned and looked at the two balls of flesh with a look consisting of a cross between annoyance and hunger. The minions backed off, not wanting to become the lunch of a strange alien.

The Waddle Dees were soon startled further as more figures came through the portal. There was another blue-furred animal, two large, fleshy things, one of which held an odd beast with a hard back; a strange creature with glowing paws, a large bird, and…

The Waddle Dees instantly relaxed some. They recognized the last person as Meta Knight, a common ally of the king. The masked warrior spotted them and motioned for them to go away before speaking to its companions. As the portal closed behind the beings, the Waddle Dees walked back towards the castle dejectedly. At least they still had time before King Dedede returned to make their lives miserable.

Meanwhile, Meta Knight told the rest of the Smashers where they were. "It seems that we are on planet Pop Star, most specifically the country of Dream Land. This is good; I can summon the _Halberd_ so we can rest tonight."

"But wasn't the _Halberd_ destroyed by Ganon and Bowser during the Subspace thing?" Sonic had made a valid point, but Meta Knight seemed to grin under his mask.

"Master Hand was kind enough to help me rebuild it quickly. How else would we be able to fight on it in our matches?" There really was no arguing with that logic; Master Hand had rewarded them all extremely well for their bravery during Tabuu's invasion. Ships had been repaired, allowances had been made, and whole countries had been healed as a result of Master Hand's thankfulness.

"So call it already! I want to take a nice bath and get to sleep!" The Smashers looked down at Strawberry. She was getting more irritable by the minute. Not wanting to press the warp-sensing predator with flesh around her muzzle, Meta Knight pulled out a phone and began to talk to someone. Soon after he had hung up, a loud roar filled the air around them and a shadow blocked out the sun. The warriors didn't have to look up to know that the enormous flag ship of the Meta Knights had arrived.

The _Halberd_ soon set down not far from where the fighters had appeared. A hatch along the bottom of the craft opened and Meta Knight approached the helmet-wearing skull with feet waiting at the door. After what appeared to be introductions, the skull disappeared and Meta Knight beckoned the others to join him on the fortress-like battleship.

KHKHKHKHKHKHKHKHKHKH

"Aaaaaaahhh…" The water felt good against Strawberry's tired form. While the water was dragging down her fur more than the sand had been since it had dried, it was still much more comfortable. As the blue fox swam around in the large bathtub, the grit and grime from the Titanian desert and battle with the Golas seemed to just melt out of her fur. The fact that the water was laced with a shampoo/conditioner combination that Meta Knight had been able to find made the bath even more luxurious. The warm water eased her muscles and the pad under her feet made sure she didn't slip and fall face-first into the soap-and-water mixture.

Just outside the screen to the bathtub were two of Meta Knight's henchmen. Both of these creatures were upright and wore teal and green armor, as well as a sword slightly reminiscent of Galaxia. Meta Knight had insisted that she used his personal bath; "it would make you more comfortable than the bathing centers I provide for my helpers." Strawberry figured it had something to do with his chivalrous attitude and the fact that she was a female, but now that she was here, the vulpine didn't regret taking the warrior up on his offer.

This bath also allowed Strawberry to think a little bit about the situation. First, she had no idea how many more worlds they would have to travel through in order to reach the great land of Nippon. She recalled Crazy Hand saying that there were a good number, but that only meant so much. "A good number" could mean five, ten, or even twenty! There wasn't time to travel through twenty. They only had about…

Strawberry gasped in surprise. Now that she thought about it, a week consisted of seven days. The ceremony had begun about twenty-one hours ago. But Crazy Hand had said that they had only five days and eight hours left when they last saw him. It was not impossible for a Hand-lord to be wrong, and perhaps Crazy Hand had spent a little too long pretending to be insane. Either way, Strawberry felt sure that they had more time than anticipated. That was a good thing in that they could travel more distance if absolutely necessary.

Strawberry let her thoughts turn to Crazy Hand himself. Even though he was supposed to be purely destructive, he had created her. What's more, she had been created out of necessity, on the whim of a powerful being. Her one purpose was to help the Smashers find the portals to Nippon and bring back the one who could help. She had been conceived almost literally on the spot. Would she be allowed to live even when her purpose was fulfilled? 'I am only a tool for the others to use. No more useful than a GPS system.' A little part of Stawberry's life seemed to die out. Was she weaker than she was a moment ago? The fox-guide couldn't be sure. Strawberry lowered her muzzle into the soapy water. She was certain now; her only purpose was to help the Smashers save her home. Once that was done, she would cease to exist.

KHKHKHKHKHKHKHKHKHKH

Meta Knight stood on the bridge of the _Halberd_. As fun as it was fighting with his friends and allies, there was something to be said about getting back to basics. In this case, "basics" meant running the troupe of warriors that populated the battleship. The knight's armor had been cleaned and shone brightly. Even the cape had been cleaned; as Falco might say, "They don't come cheap". The clothes of the other Smashers were being cleaned, as well. The best Meta Knight could offer was a patch job for the various tears and cuts in the fabric, but the others were grateful. They had little choice, after all, and it wasn't worth complaining about the states that their clothes would be in.

Despite the heavy activity on the bridge, Meta Knight began to feel drowsy. The recent excitement had been draining, and the warrior could feel his eyes closing…

The squawk of an intercom system woke Meta Knight from his slumber. He was surprised to find that he was in his private quarters. What was more surprising was that he had slept for a solid nine hours. At least, that's what the clock told him.

Meta Knight removed his famous mask to rub the sleep from his eyes as he answered the paging system. "Yes?"

"Good morning, sir. Sorry to trouble you, but there is a giant bird attacking a village down below. It seems to be after something of value. The townsfolk have asked us to help them. What do you think?"

As Meta Knight put his mask back on, he grinned. It was definitely good to be back to basics.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

All of the Smashers stood on the bridge, listening to Meta Knight give orders. They had all gotten a well-deserved rest, as well as showers. It had been a little awkward for some of them, since the bathrooms were public; they were used to the privacy of their own rooms. As the _Halberd _turned about so that the bridge afforded a view of the target, Lucario related to its friends how it had helped Meta Knight back to bed the previous evening. Falco and Sonic could barely keep their chuckles under the hearing range of the shorter fighter. The great Meta Knight, carried to bed like a baby by a giant dog-thing. I was an incredible prospect for those who had known him, and they knew that if Meta Knight got wind of who had "helped" him, there would be hell to pay. For everyone in his path.

Strawberry kept silent during this altercation. She was busy dwelling on what could be called her impending doom. Certainly, a week of achievement was worth more than a year of laziness, but seven days is a short time to live, especially when you are born knowing about time.

As Meta Knight relayed his last orders, Lucario felt two things in the Aura: a nearby sadness and a far-off grief stood out above the general excitement in his range. The grief was fueling a less-than-surprising rage—it must have been the creature they were hunting. The sadness came from…Strawberry? Lucario peered at the vixen quizzically. She did seem rather downcast, but was not open to discussion at the time. He would have to talk to her later.

Meta Knight finally turned around and addressed his peers. "We are moving into visual range now. Are there any suggestions on how we eliminate this foe?"

Lucario was quick to volunteer. "I don't think fighting is the answer to this one." The room seemed to stop and stare at the Pokémon. Lucario returned the stares before answering. "That…whatever it is isn't just mad; it's in mourning, as though it lost something important. I think it's looking for some kind of treasure that it may have dropped or had stolen. We should ask the villagers if they have something that may belong to the bird."

"Or, we ask the bird itself." All eyes shifted to Strawberry. The fox seemed to have cheered up, but Lucario could sense that this was just a façade so that nobody became worried over her. "What? What kind of fox would I be if I couldn't speak animal? No offence to animals here who speak only English," she added quickly, looking awkwardly at Sonic and Falco.

Meta knight paused for a moment before nodding as only he and Kirby could. "Very well. You will ask this creature what is wrong and we will back you up. That way, there will be no danger."

"Actually, I only want you and Falco to join me. That way, this bird will feel less threatened. It may feel a kinship towards Falco, and you know this world best out of the eight of us." Meta Knight saw the logic in this and agreed.

"Set the _Halberd_ down by the foothills. Aim the Combo Cannon at the bird in case of a dire emergency. Do not fire unless I give the order. Now, move!" at Meta knight's command, the crew of the massive battleship worked themselves into a frenzy preparing to land.

KVKVKVKVKVKVKVKVKVKV

"Are ya sure you want to do this?" Falco asked Strawberry as they crested the hill. Strawberry nodded, determined. They could hear terrible squawking from the massive bird as well as screams from the villagers. They knew that if they ended up fighting the monster, it would be a bitter and bloody battle.

They finally got a good look at the bird once they reached the top of the mound. At this distance, it was clear that the bird was of immense proportions. Easily three stories tall, the enormous bird was primarily pink in color; its tail was pink at the tips as was its back. Around the body was some sort of pink armor, held in place by a blue brooch. The head was a deep red with large eyes and a yellow Mohawk bisecting it. Its body underneath the armor was a deep blue, and the feathers of her tail were yellow at the base. The most striking feature, though, was the wings. Seemingly made of pure metal, the appendages were outlined by a thick silver trim. The inner wing was composed of rainbow-colored feathers. Meta Knight instantly recognized it. "Dyna Blade."

The other two fighters turned to look at the short swordsman. "You know this thing? What's your deal?" Falco could have hardly been more blunt.

"This bird once helped destroy an early version of the _Halberd_. I shouldn't be here; it'll only become more upset if it sees me. Go for the head if it attacks, but its wings are like giant knives. Good luck." With that, Meta Knight calmly turned around and walked back towards his ship.

"Geez, can you believe him? He just up and left us! Well, come on; let's get this thing over with so that we can move on." Strawberry nodded and began to walk forward, releasing a sharp yelp to get the attention of the enraged bird. Dyna Blade turned around and saw…Falco.

Before anyone could react, Falco was in the wings of the giant bird. Strawberry gasped as the enormous avian struck its beak down towards Falco. She flinched, waiting for the cry of pain that would signal the end of Falco's life.

"AAAAAAAHHH!! Hey, stop that! Cut it out! I ain't your buddy; go away!" Strawberry looked up and saw that Dyna Blade was in fact grooming Falco. She couldn't help but laugh as the smaller blue avian was preened clear into next week. Falco took notice of her laughter and became indignant. "Hey, tell it to stop already! I'm getting soaked!"

At length, Strawberry calmed down enough to begin conversing with Dyna Blade. Caught between the shrill yelps and piercing screeches, Falco could almost feel his head split apart. Eventually, the larger bird stopped screeching, looked down at Falco, and promptly placed him on the ground. "That's better. Thanks for blowing out my ears, by the way."

"Sorry about that Falco, but she thought you were her chick. Apparently the villagers took her child and she's been distraught ever since. It's actually kind of a funny story when we throw in the part about you being mistaken—."

"Yeah, yeah, hilarious. So we just gotta get that chick back from the village and she'll stop attacking. Fine, I'm on it." Falco stormed off, embarrassed that he had been thought of as the large bird's youngling. Strawberry just grinned after him before making conversation to keep the monstrous avian at ease.

KHKHKHKHKHKHKHKHKHKH

"So Dyna Blade's chick was seen as some sort of pet by the village children and that's why they stole it?" Strawberry nodded to Ike's question. "That's unbelievable. The story's only better in that she thought Falco was her kid!" Everyone on the bridge laughed except Falco, who took the time to storm off and go to the quarters lent to him, mumbling something about cleaning his laser.

"There's more, though." The Smashers turned to Strawberry, who put on a look of self importance. Lucario caught a hint of the sadness from earlier. Did the fact that Dyna Blade had a child of her own sadden the blue vixen?

"I asked her if she knew what was over in that direction," Strawberry gestured towards the heading the _Halberd_ was currently taking, "and she said that in that direction was Green Greens. The only thing or creature of great value there is a tree named Whispy. I think that this tree knows how to get to the next portal."

"Great, so how long until we get to see this 'all-knowing' tree?" Sonic's impatience really showed this time. It was true, though; there had been too many delays as it was.

Meta Knight answered this time. "We're actually landing right now. Sonic, if you would be so kind as to drag Falco back here so we can get a move on?" Sonic's reply was to race out of the room as fast as the narrow corridors of the ship would allow. "Thankfully, it wasn't far to the edge of the woods. Now, I think I remember how to get to this tree, so everyone should stay close."

KGGKGGKGGKGGKGGKGGKGG

"How much further again?" The other Smashers cringed at Sonic's whining.

"About five feet after you stop asking that," came Ike's reply. The tall mercenary had recently bashed his head into a branch that he hadn't seen since he was answering the same question all of ninety seconds ago. As a result, he was getting rather angry.

"Don't worry. If I remember correctly from what Kirby has continually told me about his 'friend' Whispy, we'll be passing into his hollow very shortly." Though Meta Knight was becoming rattled at Sonic's constant irritation, he remained calm. The others might not have recognized it, but they had just passed an important checkpoint that signified that they were all of one hundred feet away from the clearing that the tree stood in.

Meta Knight's sense of direction proved to be right on the money. He soon stepped into an opening in the trees where the sun shined pleasantly. Ahead was a thick apple tree with three hollows and a branch arranged in such a way that it seemed to have a face.

Squirtle, having recovered long ago from its extreme dehydration, decided to be inquisitive and approach the tree. Immediately, a voice called out. "Who goes in my forest?" The voice, though not particularly threatening, held enough weight to cause Squirtle to draw back. The Smashers were confused before Meta Knight stepped forward.

"We are warriors seeking a portal to another world. I am Meta Knight and these are my allies. Do you know of a warp to another area of the universe?"

"I do." The Smashers were startled by two things. First, the mysterious presence knew of the portal to the next area. Second, the voice had come from the tree in the center of the hollow. It was then that Marth made a realization.

"Hey, guys? Isn't that the tree from the Green Greens stage?" Recognition hit the rest of the Smashers like a waterfall of bricks. As the others jabbered excitedly, Marth continued. "Will you point us in the proper direction, Sir Whispy?"

"I will," replied the tree, "if you beat me in battle." The Smashers calmed down at this, then began to argue about who would fight the tree. Eventually, Ike made a winning statement.

"I should do it. I can just burn him into submission." Once again, logic reigned supreme. After a warning from Strawberry to try and keep the tree alive, Ike stepped forward. Immediately, Whispy began to blow air at the mercenary commander. But Ike was used to this, since he had fought on the Green Greens stage several times before. Ike hunkered down to improve his balance and continued to stride forward. By the time he had reached the sentient tree, the wind had stopped and Whispy tried dropping apples on Ike. Ike simply dodged and set up next to the tree. In an attempt to rub the impending victory in Whispy's face, Ike taunted by flaring the fire power in his sword.

Immediately, Whispy shouted, "Okay! You may pass! Just don't light me on fire! The portal is in my mouth!" Ike stopped, surprised that he had won with such ridiculous ease.

Strawberry strode forth as Whispy opened his mouth as far as it would go. "He's telling the truth. Let me just activate it and…" The portal opened. Strawberry, as usual, took point and went in first. The other Smashers followed one by one, some crawling in order to fit inside the tree's maw. Once the last Smasher had gone and the portal closed, Whispy closed his mouth and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Man, Kirby has some weird friends. Maybe I should lay off of being a zone defender for a while."

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

**"Uh, heh…you know I was just kidding, right?" Sonic felt his back bump against the corner. He was trapped and at the mercy of his tormentor. A mercy that would not show.**

**"Yeah…_real_ funny." A silver hand-and-a-half sword glinted in the light. Foxpilot was not pleased and the light seemed to foreshadow the joy he would soon feel. "Star Fox: Assault may be the worst game of the Star Fox series, but to compare it to _that_ game is just vile. You will pay, and then we can move on." His voice was eerily calm.**

**Silver glinted, screams of pain and anguish rang out, and a failed attempt at maniacal laughter filled the air.**

**"Whew, what a workout." Foxpilot is shown polishing his sword. It still has red on it from the unspeakable acts that had just been committed. "I do believe it is time to explain.**

**"Whispy and Dyna Blade are both boss enemies from the Kirby series, and Meta Knight apparently commands a hoard of minions named after him. That's actually it for game stuff.**

**"What is most pressing is Strawberry coming to grips with her potential mortality. I don't exactly know where that came from. I guess my meds are wearing off. Either way, this is an introduction to an informal poll I want to have. Should Strawberry stay around through the end of the fic, or should she be 'put away' but Crazy Hand at the end? I'm giving you, the fans, that choice. Also, I have anonymous reviews on, so if you like or hate Strawberry, let me know. You have two chapters to tell me what you think.**

**"Also, I want to put bloopers at the end of the chapter. If you want them, tell me that as well. But until next time, ciao chow.**

**"Oh, and don't worry about Sonic. He's a Smasher. He'll respawn."**


	6. The Third Portal: MobiusEarth

**We now join the ever-crazy gamer Foxpilot in his retreat from the world. Here, we see the enthusiastic writer engaged in composing the story for his number-one fanfic, 'The Week of Blue Sun'. He appears to be listening to some sort of music. If I am correct, it is the Brawl version of the Star Wolf Theme. What a pathetic si—."**

**"Sonic, I know you're pissed that I killed you, but filming my activities is not the best way to get revenge. Try stealing my Wii or something instead."  
"But you'll kill me again!"**

**"True. Now, it's time for the intro, so I suppose I should start. Route that camera to the audience, will ya?" Sonic grumbles, but wirelessly connects the camera to a screen in front of the audience. "Hello, my fans. Today, I would like to thank my reviewers, for I have reached a greater than 2:1 review-to-chapter ratio!" F-p pauses while the crowd erupts in cheers. He continues when the yells die down. "Second, I would like to thank my newest reviewer, Missybeautimus, for her feedback. You are much better than another anon reviewer I know and are much more polite. You should be happy with yourself. But, I'm afraid you misjudged me. I was actually debating on making Straw a Smasher, but you stopped that before it went too far. I thank you for your sensibility.**

**"Now that that's done, I suppose someone should do the disclaimer. But the only people here are me and Sonic. So…" Sonic grins behind the camera, ready to say the disclaimer. "I guess I'll have my computer do it!" Sonic face-faults and bursts out screaming, but the computer drowns him out.**

**"Master Foxpilot does not own Smash Bros. If he did there would be no ROB or Olimar in Brawl." Foxpilot, who by now had shut Sonic up by holding his jaw shut, puts his face in front of the camera.**

**"Isn't that monotone lovely? Let it…Begin! Especially before Sonic starts screaming again."**

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

A warm sun beat down on the red creature in front of the glowing rock. The shrine the object was on was surrounded by large pillars that made it seem like the illuminated jewel was trapped in a prison. The creature in the sun, however, ignored both the radiance of the sun and the gem. Today would to be rather special compared to the previous day. And the day before. And the day before that…

Knuckles the Echidna stood at his post, ever vigilant despite the faraway look in his eyes. Ever since Angel Island had crashed into the Mystic Ruins all that time ago, things hadn't been the same. Sure, he had met some new friends, two of whom were visiting later today, but he still missed the freedom and, more importantly, the security of the sky.

As the last defendant of the famed Master Emerald, A massive jewel that housed immense power, a holy being, and an unfortunate victim, Knuckles had to remain eternally wary of his surroundings. This, combined with the training he had received in his youth, kept him from being too bored when standing in front of the gem. But many years of guarding the powerful rock, would wear down even the hyper-focused Knuckles' patience. After all, being the sole person in a remote portion of the world soon got rather tiring.

This is why Knuckles was looking forward to what was coming later that day. Several years ago, he had made friends with two hedgehogs and a fox. The hedgehogs, a blue speed-demon named Sonic and a pink hothead named Amy, were at odds with each other over a crush Amy had on Sonic. But the two were good friends to the red echidna, especially after Sonic had cleared himself of being a threat to the Master Emerald. The fox, a young, russet-colored creature named Miles "Tails" Prowler, was even friendlier than the other two. Plus, he was apparently good with machines. Though shy and strange, Tails proved to be a steadfast ally in the constant fights against the irritating Dr. Eggman. But that was territory that Knuckles didn't want to get into.

The red guardian was snapped back to the present by a loud crackling sound. Turning around, he noticed that two of the pillars were connected by a strange force. This force, a tangible sort of light, expanded and filled in the gap between the two poles. The force stopped expanding at length and the crackling was replaced with a soothing hum.

Knuckles was not thrown off his guard for an instant. In all of his years of protecting the Emerald, he had known no such force to exist. Perhaps the jewel was trying to tell him something. Or was this a far worse omen?

Whatever the echidna had expected, it was not what really happened. From the light emerged a creature covered in deep blue fur. Its eyes betrayed some recognition of the place it had come into, but the being did not make to attack or flee. Instead, it calmly strode a few feet away and turned around and faced the light. By now, Knuckles had figured out that this light was a portal. He strode up to the creature in an attempt to make conversation.

"Who or what are you?" The red creature's deep voice was rough with disuse, but the message got across. The creature, which Knuckles realized was a fox, turned to the echidna with questioning eyes. After giving him a once-over, the blue vulpine spoke with a tone filled with amusement.

"I could ask you the same thing. Though by your shoes and general body shape, I would guess that you are related to Sonic the Hedgehog in some way. If so, then we are not at odds; rather, I would think that we are allies." Knuckles was stunned. This creature claimed to know Sonic, who had disappeared a little while ago. Maybe she had a clue to where he had gone. Before the gem guardian could ask, a cocky voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Aw, great, there's another one of him!" Knuckles whirled around, ready to punch out whoever had said the offending statement. He was met with the disapproving stare of a large blue bird garbed in strange attire. Behind him, a small blue turtle was crawling out of the light.

"Another one of who, exactly?" Knuckles was already irritated that his home and sanctuary was being infested with unwelcome guests, but this bird just rubbed him the wrong way. His voice and demeanor were filled with arrogance, not unlike Knuckles' own. Plus, he was part of an ever-increasing force that was invading the Master Emerald's hideaway. By now, an armored orb, two armored humans with swords, and a large blue dog had entered through the portal. As Knuckles prepared to defend his home, a familiar and annoying voice filled the air.

"Knux! How ya doin' buddy?" Knuckles shifted his gaze to the portal, where one of the only people who would dare call him that had crawled out from. Standing there was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog, grinning like a moron. Knuckles would have grinned back if the situation was more private. Instead, the echidna went into a more defensive mode.

"Care to explain what these idiots are doing here? They some new friends you picked up while away?" This earned a scoff from the blue bird, but Knuckles ignored it. Sonic might be an idiot, but he had enough sense to tell who was a friend and who wasn't.

"Uh-huh! Let me introduce you!" Sonic took Knuckles around the group, introducing him to everyone. When they reached Falco, the bird just crossed his arms. Knuckles looked at Sonic, who said, "Don't mind him. He has a terrible attitude." The echidna chuckled with his friend and rival, sparking an outburst from the avian in question.

"Hey, what're you laughin' at? It's not like you have a winning attitude yourself, 'Knux.'" Knuckles stopped laughing and glared at Falco. The sparks between them were almost tangible; if one were to put so much as a finger between them, they could honestly be afraid of being electrocuted.

The tense moment was pierced by a horribly girlish scream. The Smashers and Knuckles turned to the source, which proved to be a pink hedgehog wearing a red dress. She had her eyes closed in a very fangirlish way and was screaming, "SSOOONNNIIIC! You came back!" The others turned to the person in question, only to find him long gone.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

"So, let me get this straight. You are all from different worlds, but you came together for a sort of 'party' that only the best are allowed to attend?" In front of the group was a young yellow fox with two tails. The only ones not staring at the strange double-appendage were Amy and Knuckles. Miles "Tails" Prowler had come up the trail shortly after Amy had arrived. Amy was sitting with Tails, trying to comprehend the strange creatures before her. Two of them had gone off in an attempt to bring Sonic out of hiding; the two dog-like creatures had claimed that they had "abilities" that would allow them to find him. The others had been explaining the situation.

Falco looked at the three creatures. They were similar to Lylatian creatures except that they were smaller and wore fewer clothes. Nothing seemed to show, but he recognized the roles of the three creatures in front of him as parallel to those of the Star Fox team before Amanda had joined. Sonic could mirror Fox, with his optimism and determination; the freaky Tails was easily Slippy, the pink hedgehog could be Krystal if she had telepathy, and the red echidna…Falco mentally shook himself. There was no way in hell that that arrogant fool could reflect him.

As they sat chatting amongst themselves, Falco looked back up the mountain trail where Sonic had disappeared. It had only been about fifteen minutes, but there was no time to waste. He hoped that the fugitive and his pursuers would return soon. Though he would never admit it, he needed the others' rivalries to keep him at his best. Fighting polygons and holograms just wasn't the same.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

Lucario walked beside Strawberry, alert for any sign of hostile movement. The fox was following the scent of their target, though she seemed to be putting in more effort than was necessary. The Pokémon thought back to the waves of sadness he had felt from the small vixen. It was time to confront those, whether she wanted to or not. "So, what's been bugging you?"

Though it was a simple question, it was one that only someone like Lucario could ask. Strawberry knew that Lucario had sensed her sadness, but this was her problem. Yet Lucario was not one to give up easily. His role during Tabuu's takeover proved that. The vixen sighed; there was no way around it. "I…I've just been thinking about some things…" She left it there, hoping one last time that Lucario would drop the subject. She looked at the Pokémon and saw he wouldn't let the matter drop so easily. Sighing again, Strawberry continued. "On the _Halberd_, I realized that my only use was to guide the group to the portals leading to Nippon. From there, we would return to the mansion and save the Smash Planet. Once that was done, I would have no use and Crazy Hand would…well, he'd stop my existence."

Lucario saw the dilemma. Straw was coming to grips with the fact that she was only something to be used in the eyes of her creator. Once she was no longer of service, she would be tossed aside like a child's toy. Probably the only reason she had not stopped or delayed the mission was her own inner sense of duty and responsibility, possibly planted by Crazy Hand himself. It was logic that could not be argued against; the left hand was known to destroy, after all. Lucario did the one thing it could think to do. Looking around to see that it would be private, the Pokémon knelt down.

Strawberry was not ready for what happened next. Suddenly, Lucario had scooped her up in its arms and given her a tight, caring hug. If a fox could blush, she would have been plum purple from the mix of red skin and blue fur. "Wha-what are you doing?!"

"Don't take this the wrong way. Back home, I have a mate of my own. But you need a friend right now more than anything and I'm the only one who understands right now." Lucario set Strawberry down on the ground. "When we get home, I will argue in your defense if Crazy Hand wants to remove you from the universe. I think there are others who would back me up, as well."

Strawberry was overcome. Despite their travels, nobody had openly declared themselves her friend. She felt happy and relieved; maybe now she would have a chance at the life she had been given. Looking up, she noticed that Lucario was staring at her in a funny, if serious, way. "What?"

"You…won't tell anyone about this, will you? I have a mate and children at home that I love dearly, and if this gets out…" The vixen nodded in understanding. "Thanks. Now, let's find us an annoying blue hedgehog."

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

The red biplane soared through the airspace around Angel Island and its resting place among the Mystic Ruins. At the controls was Tails, piloting with skill born from years of experience. The two-tailed fox was reflecting on the strange visitors who claimed to be from different worlds. They were all so strange, even the large blue bird that resembled the people Tails knew to a fair degree. They had all so much to share. Medieval worlds, spaceships, armies of foes, and creatures kept in small orbs. There was so much to absorb. Tails struggled to come to grips with Sonic's new "friends" and their strange ways. None of them seemed particularly evil, but the masked ball and the bird seemed to have renegade tendencies.

Tails shook the thoughts off. Though they were rather odd, the fox knew that his point of view was not one-sided. Certainly, the strangers thought that _he_ was odd; having two tails was not a common trait. Plus, he was rather short and young.

Tails pulled the biplane into a loop just for fun. It seemed to clear his mind a little, as well. If they were all odd, then they should stick together, right? In a way, they were all misfits, banded together and united by their experiences and differences. Yes…this concept made things so much more clear. They had thought each other strange at first, but by sharing their individual stories and finding common ground, they had each formed groups that made up a whole society. It was the very essence of being a group.

Tails smiled to himself, feeling his apprehension drain away. The strangers, according to Knuckles, had accepted Sonic into their group and they had all made memories as a society. Tails, too, had made memories, both good and bad, with Sonic, Amy, and the red echidna. No, these creatures were the same as they were. They only seemed different because of differing backgrounds. Tails had seen the way the bird's eyes had lit up when he had mentioned that Tails had brought a plane. The fox turned back to his passenger. "How're you holding up?"

Falco grinned at the younger pilot. Finally, the bird was in his element without being lifted up by a giant, lonely mother. Knowing that Tails wouldn't hear him over the roar of the wind, he gave the fox a feathery thumbs-up. Though the plane didn't have inertial dampening like his _Sky Claw_, the machine still flew straight. The only reason Falco wasn't piloting himself was because he didn't think the kid or the plane would be able to put up with his maneuvers, learned through more years of experience than the kid could hope to have anytime soon.

Falco looked out over the vast landscape below them. Here was a swampy clearing where muck mixed with plants; there was a large amount of forest that hid the ground and who knows what else from view. And over to the plane's left, where the trees began to thin, was a plethora of shiny spots travelling across the ground. Every so often, a spot would leap into the air for a brief period before landing among its companions

Wait…What kind of creature could shine like that? A closer inspection led to two things: the spots were really reflections of the sun off of metal, and the large amount of spots was slowly travelling in their direction. Falco tapped Tails on the shoulder, and then pointed at the spots once the fox was paying attention.

Tails' face instantly became grave. Shouting a warning, he immediately turned back towards the ruins and flew back. The creature was so excited that Falco could hardly understand him over the wind. But he thought he heard the words "robots" and "Eggman." "Eggman?" Hadn't Sonic mentioned something about some guy by that name? Falco then had a brief flashback of when Sonic had first joined Smash Bros. He had said that his mortal enemy was a guy named "Dr. Eggman." Falco realized that the dots weren't creatures, but a large fighting force of mechanical warriors sent in search of something. And based on the direction they were headed, there was only one thing of value that they could be after.

Knuckles had said his job was to guard the large jewel on the crashed island and that the jewel contained immense power. That was it. Those robots were after that jewel.

The Master Emerald.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

A loud muttering reached Amy's ears as she sat with her Knuckles and the Smashers. The motley group had said that once their friends had returned with Sonic, they would leave through a "portal" of some sort inside of the Mystic Ruins. While Amy would be sad to see them go, especially Sonic, she was could tell that they were doing something important.

The muttering was soon joined by a second voice, then a third, calm voice. The three noises grew louder until three figures emerged from around the corner leading up the mountain trail. Lucario appeared, carrying the legs of a distraught Sonic. Strawberry was keeping Sonic's head from dragging on the ground by holding it on her back. Sonic, for his part, was grumbling loudly, having given up outright complaining several minutes ago.

"SONIC!" The high-pitched scream brought everyone's attention to Amy, before whirling around to see the hedgehog's awkward position. Marth and Ike began laughing, as did Squirtle in its own way, while Meta Knight just sighed. At this point, it was rather embarrassing to know the rodent, but the armored warrior still couldn't help but feel a sort of amusement at Sonic's predicament.

By this time, Amy had run up to the small force and grabbed Sonic in a crushing hug. Strawberry and Lucario backed off slowly, not wanting to attract the pink creature's attention. They went back to the rest of the group, where Lucario asked Knuckles, "Is this normal?" The echidna just crossed his arms and nodded. If this were a TV show, he would have had a massive sweat-drop on his head.

Fortunately for Sonic, more shouting came from the opposite path. Running up the slope was Falco, who began to relate the news he and Tails had discovered. Tails soon came up behind him.

The warriors gathered around the bird and fox and listened to them explain how a large force of robots was coming to take the Master Emerald. As the sun crept higher, the Smashers and their new friends began to form a plan.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

The ground began to shake with the combined force of robotic footsteps. Falco, Ike, Lucario, Amy, and Knuckles stood their ground. As the heavy-hitters of the group, their job was to keep the robots from getting past the "checkpoint" behind them while the rest of the plan was set in motion.

They didn't have to wait long. As the rumbling of heavy footfalls reached a crescendo, the group readied themselves. Falco pulled out his blaster; Knuckles got into a fighting stance; Amy drew her Piko Piko hammer; Ike pulled Ragnell back and charged a Quick Draw; Lucario maxed out the energy in his Aura Sphere.

The first robots stomped into view. They were silver and carried heavy guns as their right arms. Their feet moved efficiently, not wasting any energy dodging what they could crush. Square cowls shielded their eyes from the sun, allowing them to see more clearly. Their large, bulky frames were sturdy, but their legs were rather thin. On their chest plates were figures that could have been used as identification. These first five robots had "E-200" through "E-204." Amy muttered something about them being designed after "Mr. Robot."

Ike wasted no time. He dashed forward, bisecting the two left-most robots and damaging the center one with the rest of his power. Kicking the droid off of his sword, he leapt out of the way to allow Falco to finish off the damaged machine with blaster fire. Lucario came next, blowing the fourth robot to pieces with his Aura Sphere.

Knuckles and Amy rushed into the fray, fists and hammer swinging wildly. They managed to take down another line of robots before gunfire forced them to retreat. Lucario and Falco rushed in next, doing their best to slow the advance of the war machines. But slowly, though five warriors worked their hardest to cut down the enemy ranks, the fighters were forced back towards the "checkpoint" and the path to the Master Emerald.

Suddenly a loud roaring filled the air. The robots looked back at their path to see that the trail had been blocked with boulders. The more arrogant Smashers smirked. That meant that all of the robots had entered into their trap.

Gunfire rang out, enveloping the valley in ricochet of bullets as the warriors dodged. Falco took this chance to pull out his Reflector and deflect some of the rounds back at their weapons, disabling a few of the robots' guns. Ike, using his sword's length to his advantage, got close and activated a counter. As bullets deflected off of the orange-gold blade, Ike gave a war cry. The subsequent attack slashed through another robot, bisecting it at the waist.

Amy flattened a droid with an overhead swing of her hammer before whirling around and smashing another. The momentum drove the crippled mech into two others, crushing them as well. One of the afflicted droids stood back up, only to be ambushed by the second wave of fighters.

Sonic, Marth, and Meta Knight rushed in. Sonic Spin Dashed through the centers of two robots before blasting through the head of a third. Marth impaled two robots on Falchion using his Shield Breaker before going into a Dancing Blade, which minced several robots at once.

The battle seemed to be going well. The sealing of the valley had been completed when Tails, using Falco's spare blaster, knocked down several boulders to keep the robots trapped. Though the fox was not a strong fighter, he used Falco's gun with decent accuracy, blowing holes through several robots before they could injure unwary fighters on the ground. Strawberry joined the fight from above. Being too valuable to be allowed to fight on the ground, the resourceful vixen used her "grappling neck" ability to rip the heads off of robots.

Robots piled up around the battlefield. The majority had been bisected, leaving their bottom halves standing. Others had been cleaved in half height-wise. Still others were crushed or demolished or had holes ripped in them. It was a gruesome sight for those who preferred machines to living flesh.

Ike took all of this information into his mind in an instant. The robot numbers were beginning to dwindle, and the mechs were starting to back off. As Ike was about to rally the fighters with a victory cry, a powerful explosion hit him, knocking him off his feet and almost causing him to lose consciousness. Ike managed to roll over and look back at where the blast had come from. There, balancing on one arm was the severed top half of one of the robots. Around it were a large number of droids in similar positions. All of them were taking aim at various targets around them. Ike released a scream as the droid that had blasted him before let lose another missile from its launcher, aimed directly at his face.

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

**"Cliffhanger! Will Ike survive? Can everyone survive? How are only some of the robots still working? We will find out in the next chapter of 'The Week of Blue Sun!'**

**"But right now, it is time to explain. This land hails from Sonic's heyday. When the Master Emerald was shattered, Angel Island crashed into the Mystic Ruins. It just supports my story for it to be there. Also, the robots are based off of Eggman's E-102y robot ('Gamma'), which befriends Amy, who calls it 'Mr. Robot.'**

**"Furthermore, classic games have Sonic and Tails flying in a red biplane. In the anime, this is called the _Tornado_, but I don't know if it has a real name. Also, there is debate about whether the planet is Earth or another planet called 'Mobius,' so this is the transition world between the space areas and the areas supposedly on Earth, like Hyrule or the Mushroom Kingdom.**

**"And for you Sonic fans, no I don't have anything against Sonic. He was just available.**

**"Voting for Strawberry's ultimate survival will continue until I post the next chapter. But for now, enjoy the blooper that was voted to be put in!"**

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As Tails flew above the Mystic Ruins, he caught Falco muttering something. Looking back, he saw that the avian was talking on his headset. At length, the bird stopped talking and looked up at Tails. He yelled something at the fox, who couldn't quite catch the words. When he received a quizzical look, Falco narrowed his eyes and yelled at the top of his lungs. Tails caught it this time.

"MY FRIEND SAYS YOU SHOULD DO A BARREL ROLL!!" Shrugging, Tails inverted the biplane into a corkscrew maneuver. As the aircraft came out of the stunt, Tails looked back to ask how it was, only to find Falco gone.

Below, Falco was plummeting to what seemed like his doom. Then the blue bird got an idea. Flapping his arms as fast as he could, Falco managed to slow his descent enough so that when he landed, he wouldn't die from crashing into the trees. Suddenly, the wind shifted, sending Falco over a swampy area.

Falco crashed down, causing a mud explosion. Once he had recovered from the initial shock of the landing, Falco started to laugh. He had survived. Sure, the expensive Lylat-exclusive aviator's jacket was beyond ruined, and the mud would take forever to get out, but the avian had survived without injury.

A low growl brought Falco out of his reverie. Looking around, he saw that the swamp was filled with crocodiles, which were slowly closing on the bird…

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**"Don't worry Falco fans, this doesn't really happen. It's only a blooper. Um…please put down the chainsaw…stay back! Back, I say!**

**"I'm ending this before someone gets hurt. Ciao chow, people who don't want me dead!"**

**"**


	7. The Mark of Zero

**Fox dashes down the hall at top speed. His goal: to find Foxpilot before the crowd gets wild. He soon reaches the room of the author/host, who he finds asleep at the desk with music playing from headphones that are hooked over his ears rather than being inserted in them. He goes over to the dozing guy and shakes him gently. "Hey, F-p, you have to wake up now!"**

**"Mmmnnh…what're you talking about? It's only…" Foxpilot looks at the clock on his laptop. "Three minutes after the show starts…Oh, crap! Thanks Fox. Let's get back to the stage." The author runs out the door. Knowing he's faster and can catch up, Fox looks at what is on the screen.**

**"'Andross Slayer?' 'We Fight On?' What is this guy writing?"**

**"Hello, and welcome to…" Foxpilot lets out a loud yawn. "OOOOOOuuuuuhhhhh… 'scuse me. We're back with 'The Week of Blue Sun,' Chapter 7!" The crowd goes wild. "Yes, thank you. You are all so kind. As are my reviewers. As far as I know from this announcement, I have yet to see one flame for this story. Amazing!" Cheers are let out again. "Yes, it's wonderful. But now, here for the disclaimer is Fox McCloud!" Less cheering occurs, but it's still quite apparent that the crowd want to hear from the pilot. Fox steps out.**

**"Hi everyone. Foxpilot does not own Smash Bros. or any other licensed content. If he did, he'd be rather rich. That good?" Foxpilot nods. "Okay, now I have a question. Why did you get more cheers than me?"**

**"Because many fans think your recent games suck. I like them, but…Which reminds me. There's something I've been meaning to say."**

**"If you tell me to 'do a barrel roll, I will pop you in the jaw."**

**"Hmm…I like that idea." Foxpilot backhands Fox across the muzzle with a loud _smack_! "That's for kicking Krystal off the team, you idiot! Wow, that felt good. Pretty sad actually. Meh, moving on. Let it…Begin!"  
"Owwwww…"**

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"It's too hot here." The complaint was only the most recent of many that had pervaded the chamber that the Smashers were in. Around them blazed an intense fire that gave off an odd blue glow. Zelda looked across the room, under the bright light that floated mysteriously in the center. Link, the Hero of Twilight, looked back at the sweating princess and only nodded. They had been trapped in the hellhole for an unknown amount of days. Possibly weeks, even. Most of the Smashers were becoming upset and agitated. It didn't help that they each had a five-foot bubble to walk around in. Orbiting the floating light in the center were more than two dozen glistening and translucent orbs, each guarding their respective Smasher from the heat of the flames above, below, and around them. While the bubbles allowed sound in and blocked most of the heat, it seemed that they didn't let anything tangible out. The Smashers had tried all of the attacks at their disposal, but not even Ganondorf's Warlock Punch could so much as scratch the fields.

Link gave the princess an encouraging smile. It seemed that he wasn't being bothered by the heat as much as others were; that may have been from his experience in the Goron Mines. Link, always optimistic, knew that once the princess of Hyrule lost hope, many of the others would too. Link knew that he was the only one left that could make her smile; oh, how he longed to run over and hug the princess, tell her that everything would get better and that they would be saved before all that was left of the great warriors was charbroiled matter. Still, even Link had his limits. Once Zelda had returned the smile and looked away to assure Lucas, Link cut his gaze to his right. The great Hero of Twilight, reincarnation of the incredible Hero of Time, was running out of hope; he was giving it all to his princess. The only thing that gave Link comfort was that some of the Smashers weren't there. Perhaps they had been spared of this horrible fate.

Zelda's eyes held back tears as she consoled the young PSI psychic. Though timid, Lucas was still brave and was holding up well for the current circumstances. Zelda looked back over at Link. His gaze was on the wall of flames to his right. Zelda, though she wouldn't admit it so easily, loved how those eyes danced in the firelight. Though she could barely see them from their current proximity, or lack thereof, Link's eyes had always been one of his more attractive features. Even as a wolf, those eyes glistened with spirit and integrity. And his heroic efforts had touched her very soul. Even after she had given her physical form in the Twilight Realm to save Midna, his one-time companion, he hadn't stopped looking for her. It was thanks to Link and Midna that she had her life here. Midna had given most of the credit to Link, who had humbly accepted it. He had even seemed embarrassed! Even though they had fought together to defeat Ganondorf, who was several spheres to Zelda's right, the two had never been able to speak openly with one another. Link had returned to his life and Zelda to hers.

When they had been summoned for the Smash Bros. again, they had each entertained some hope of seeing each other again. Their prayers had been answered, and the two had expressed joy at seeing each other again. Secretly, Zelda knew that Link felt the same as she felt for him; it was in his eyes, his movements, and his reactions around her. She just wished that he'd say something already so that they could be open with each other once more.

Zelda looked up at the pulsating ceiling. The more he looked, the more it looked like gas rather than standard fire. It didn't even give off smoke…

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The smoke cleared from Ike's viewpoint. The last thing he had seen was a blinding flash that gave off smoke. But before that, he had seen an ovoid shadow drop down from above…

It took Ike a moment to realize he was holding something. He had caught it purely on instinct; his hand hadn't even registered the object until he had looked down. Ike realized that he was holding the shell of a creature. But there was only one creature that had a shell like this!

A bald blue head popped out of the brown-and-tan oval. "Squirtle!" Though the hard backbone was covered in soot, it appeared undamaged. Of course! Squirtle had used withdraw from its post above and leapt down to intercept the missile aimed at Ike! The Pokémon had saved the mercenary's life. "Squir-Squirtle…?" Oh, wait…Ike was holding the tortoise upside-down.

Ike inverted the heroic turtle and set it on the ground, dusting off its shell. "Thanks, Squirtle. You really saved my ass!" Squirtle gave Ike a cheesy thumbs-up before running off. previously, the tiny turtle had been acting as a lookout for more enemy forces, since its small size meant it could easily have been trampled in the confined battle zone. Now, it was headed in Lucario's direction.

Looking up, the powerful mercenary noticed Falco and Amy finishing the last of the half-bots. As Amy smashed the last one with her giant mallet, Falco looked back and smirked. "You owe us, Ike."

Ike smirked and made to stand. Though his back was on fire and exposed to the dust due to a giant hole burned in his clothes, the Greil leader managed to straighten up and wield Ragnell once again. "Tell you what. We'll call it even by me not mentioning that little 'bird incident' ever again." Falco's eyes flashed with fury, but he nodded his head before rejoining the battle.

By now, most of the robots had been smashed, slashed, or otherwise disposed of. Parts littered the battlefield, creating hazards for any living creature unlucky enough to step on or near them. Ike surveyed the clash. Many of the Smashers had taken hits from the surprise missile attack. Marth's arm was badly burned; fortunately it was his left one. Lucario seemed to have taken a direct hit to his chest-spike, as the whole of his front was charred, but he didn't seem to have taken much damage. The coyote-like Pokémon was now conversing with Squirtle. Looking up, it could be seen that Tails had been hit in one of his twin appendages, which hung limply over the edge of the cliff. Strawberry had some cuts on her cheek from where a rock had exploded by her head. Looking back at the main battle, Ike saw that Knuckles' fists were burnt; he'd probably used his amazing strength to block missiles with his gloved, clenched hands. Even more incredible was that he was still punching away at the remaining robots. Ike had to admire his resiliency.

The only warriors that didn't seem to have taken a hit from the barrage were Falco, Amy, Meta Knight, and Sonic. They had been able to escape damage using their innate skills or equipment. These four comprised the main fighting force that had rounded up and, along with Knuckles, had begun finishing the last few androids. Only about five were left.

These five were quickly pounded into scrap. Knuckles lunged forward and decapitated one, which collapsed on the ground. Amy went next, firing the heads off of the one on the far left with her hammer like it was a baseball. Meta Knight used his Dimensional Cape to dodge the gunfire of the third and appeared above the droid, cleaving it's head in two with a downward slash. As the fourth fired, Falco kicked out his reflector. The glowing energy hexagon knocked the missile back into its gun of origin before frying the armor of the robot. The droid remained standing, but was quickly dispatched as Sonic ground down on its head with a Homing Attack. The move ripped apart the casing and exposed wires to the spines of the hedgehog, which severed cables like a knife through noodles. Finally, the last mechanical being tried to charge Falco, seeming to believe he was the biggest threat. This advance was stopped as Knuckles preformed a vicious uppercut that ground through the armor on the front and ripped off the head from below. As the machine fell, Falco muttered something about Knuckles being a "glory hog."

Ike worked his way over to the group. Though damaged and roughed up, the group had managed to survive the onslaught. As congratulations were passed around and wounds were compared, Lucario, who seemed to be having trouble standing, walked over to the group. It was holding its paws around the area of the spike on its chest, and Ike could see that the burns were afflicting the Pokémon desperately. Ike thought back to something Red had once told him: Pokémon, except for fire types and ones with certain abilities were quite vulnerable to burns. This burn covered most of Lucario's front, meaning that the creature was taking constant damage at a high rate. It occurred to the mercenary that Lucario wouldn't be able to fight anymore until the burns were removed. Where before its Aura was only flaring slightly, the flickering indicators around the Fighting/Steel warrior's paws were now blazing brightly. Lucario needed help, and fast.

Marth seemed to have noticed, too, and was about to express his concern when Lucario removed a paw from its abdomen to wave them into silence. The team gathered around the suffering Pokémon as it began to speak through its incredible telepathic powers. "Squirtle has brought it to my attention that there is one more robotic enemy on the way. Though it could not discern any specific level of power or weaponry, Squirtle does believe that this robot is capable of breaking through our rock barriers."

Sonic was not impressed. "So what? We'll just give it a beat-down like we did these other losers! Who's with me?" Falco, Amy, Meta Knight, and Knuckles all expressed their agreement, but the others weren't so sure. It was clear that fighting in their states could be disastrous. After all, there were no doctors around, nor was this a Brawl where all injuries were mitigated for the fighters' safety. The grueling battle had worn down the Smashers' strength, as well as their hopes.

Strawberry, who had stayed on the cliff to get a better look at this incoming enemy, finally joined the group. The left side of the vixen's face was covered in blood-matted fur, but the wounds seemed to have sealed into soft scabs. After calling the attention of the others, Strawberry began to describe the robot.

"This robot is rather tall and has a large head that tapers out slightly towards the top. It doesn't seem to have legs, but kicks up dirt behind it, so it must have some sort of propulsion underneath its wide base. It has what looks like a light upon its left shoulder area and has massive fists. I can't see in color, but the dominant shade can be identified as green for those who can." As Strawberry talked, Amy's face grew continually darker. Eventually her face was completely covered in a shadow of irritation and rage. Noticing this, Marth decided to ask what was wrong.

Amy's response was quiet but full of malice. "I know that robot. It's known as 'Zero.' Eggman made it as the first of the E-100 series. If he sent it after the Emerald, then we have a real problem. That thing is nearly indestructible. We need a large electric force to stop it."

Falco was quick to respond. "Psh! No problem! My blasters and Reflector give off of electric charges. They'll make short work of that rust bucket!"

Amy shook her head slowly and mournfully. "No, these charges have to be massive. I'm talking hundreds of thousands of Joules. If we don't have that, then we can't stop it. My strongest hit with my Piko Piko Hammer didn't even dent it. That's the kind of defense we're talking about. Plus, it can break through walls while barely stopping. We need some way to zap it hard, or else we can only knock it off balance."

As the group began to despair, Tails had an idea. "The plane! It uses an electric motor! If you can push it down the mountain to where the plane is, I can zap it with wires and we can end this robot once and for all!" The fighters' faces crossed with different emotions. Some had worry, some had fear, but all of them had at least a glimmer of determination and resolve. It wasn't a perfect plan given their current conditions, but it was all they had.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

Tails had made for the bottom of the mountain where the plane was. He had expressed his regret that he couldn't just hover down, but with one of his tails burned horribly, nobody was going to blame him. The fox was being escorted by Sonic; that is to say, Sonic was dragging Tails down the mountain at top speed, leaving the odd vulpine to trail like a pennant in the wind. The other four uninjured fighters were travelling down the mountain trail in order to head off Zero before it could get too far. Amy had begun to detail the attacks the large robot would throw at them so that the warriors would be ready at a moment's notice for anything the mechanized titan could throw at them. The wounded Smashers were trailing behind so as to keep out of the fighting while still remaining capable of catching up or, if need be, receive help.

Before too long, Falco, the tallest of the bunch, was able to see the biplane from a vantage point near a break in the rocks. Tails was there working on the engine, but there was no sign of Sonic. Falco figured that the annoying rodent had gone off to fight Zero on his own, the annoying little freak. As he turned around, he saw the blue hedgehog in question chatting with Knuckles almost casually. Hiding his shock, Falco rushed to catch up to Meta Knight, who had been leading the charge. The warrior didn't seem to have taken damage, but close inspection showed that his mask had taken a large amount of pitting from the shrapnel caused by exploding robots.

"So, do ya think the kid'll have the engine thing rigged up by the time we're there?" Falco was confident in their ability to push Zero down the slope, but he wondered how someone like Tails, who clearly wasn't much of a fighter, would hold up against the pain of his burnt tail while modifying an engine.

"I think that it is best that we don't think about it. We just have to have fai--." Meta Knight was cut off by the need to dodge a rock coming in from down the trail. Using his Dimensional Cape again, the short warrior phased out of the way as the boulder crashed down on where he once was. He appeared behind Sonic and Knuckles and pulled out Galaxia, instantly ready to counterattack.

The group of warriors looked down the trail and saw the origin of the boulder. Settled next to a large divot of a radius similar to that of the rock was a large robot. Its green paint glistened in the sunlight and dust floated off of its fingers, swirling in the gentle breeze. Amy's attitude quickly descended to anger. "Zero…"

The pink hedgehog immediately rushed forth, hammer held high for a crushing blow. She never made it. The droid slammed its massive fists into the ground, creating a shockwave that threw the unfortunate creature onto her back. As she fell, Amy lost her grip on her hammer, which landed on her left hand. Though the only force propelling the hammer was gravity, the other fighters could hear a sickening _crunch_ as bone broke under the mallet's considerable mass. Amy's screams of pain grated against the ears or other hearing organs of the present beings. Even Tails looked up from his work a mile down the mountain. The only one not affected was Zero, who, sensing an opportunity, began to charge forward.

As Zero reached Amy, it was met with a surprise hit from the Piko Piko Hammer. Having no concept of emotion, the robot didn't realize that the screams had changed from pain to sheer rage. Amy's hit, though only half as powerful due to only being able to use one hand, still knocked the droid back several feet. The healthy warriors took this as their cue to launch their counteroffensive.

Knuckles, Meta Knight, and Sonic charged forth first, using fists, blade, and spinning spines to force Zero on the defensive. Falco came next, side-smashing the robot with all of his might. The robot shrank from the onslaught, but didn't run. Amy followed up with another right-handed swing of her giant mallet. Each blow kept the droid off balance long enough for the next warrior to deliver a blow. Fists flew, a Reflector was kicked, and handheld weapons worked their hardest to push back the automaton to keep it away from the prize it so desperately desired.

Zero wouldn't be beaten so easily, though. About a third of the way down, from the initial position, Zero managed to get a punch through the desperate offensive push to smash Meta Knight in the face. Though the Star Warrior's mask took most of the damage, the blue sphere was forced back into the opposing trail wall.

There was no time to stop to be concerned. Marth, who could wield Falchion one-handed, took Meta Knight's place just as Zero was about to break through. The Altean noble used a Dancing Blade to keep the robot from breaking through. This stunned the robot long enough to let Amy and Knuckles use a joint attack to knock the droid back a little farther than it had started.

As the battle dragged on, the sun went from midday to early afternoon. The Smashers were now nearly at the plane, but their fatigue had begun showing long ago. The force of narrowly-dodged punches had ripped off fur, feathers, and clothes, even scraping off skin painfully. The once well-groomed fighters were now ragged and tired. Sweat poured off of them in small rivers as the sun beat down on them and their exhaustion increased. Amy had retired to nurse her hand, which had swollen and torn her glove across the top of her hand. Meta Knight had, fortunately, caught up and was able to replace her. The Star Warrior's mask was cracked somewhat, but the Smasher seemed otherwise unharmed.

Finally, the group forced Zero around the last bend and caught sight of the biplane. They only had a few hundred feet to go before Tails could connect the robot to the wires, which were sparking in the fox's hands.

Falco took the first leap and knocked Zero back a several feet with his Reflector. Knuckles followed up with bleeding hands, placing a punishing blow in the center of the robot. This was followed by a joint sword strike by Marth and Meta Knight. The two got in close and swung their blades at the droid's center, causing two metallic _clangs_ in tandem with one another. The strength of this sent Zero far back, almost to the plane. As Tails ran forward to finish the aggravating automaton, the robotic minion performed another ground-shaking pound with its fists. At point blank range, Tails had no chance to dodge. He was bowled over and the wires were released from his grasp. The other fighters were able to jump over the shockwave, but the fact remained that the wires were now too dangerous to grab.

Tails got up and ran towards the plane in an attempt to shut off the engine. If he could cut the power, restart the plane, and grab the wires quickly enough, the plan could still work. Falco, Sonic, Knuckles, and Meta Knight all took this in within seconds. Marth, not being uused to electricity, made an attempt to knock Zero into the flailing wires. It almost worked; as Marth knocked the robot off balance one more time with a Shield Breaker, Tails shut down the engine and the wires stopped their dangerous dance just centimeters away from frying the droid.

The whole field stood still for a moment; even Zero seemed to sense that there had been an awkward lapse in the warriors' plan. The robot took advantage of the pause and made to grab Marth, who dodged back just before the massive hands closed around him.

"C'mon, c'mon," Tails muttered to himself as the engine began to warm up again. Sonic had grabbed the wires and was ready to nail Zero at any moment. The robot was still focusing on Marth, who had just countered one of the automaton's punches. But that was about it for the swordsman. Once the swipe was ended, Marth fell to one knee, the great Falchion planted blade-down in the earth. The royal descendent of Anri had used the last of his strength to keep the automated creation of Eggman from caving his face in. Now E-100 Alpha, aka "Zero," loomed over him. Marth could almost see the victory in the robot's dead eyes.

'_So this is it, I die in the hands of a creature of metal protecting my friends. So be it._' Marth closed his eyes, waiting as the long moment between the robot's lunge and his death stretched out into infinity. As he waited, almost impatiently, for his doom, Marth heard a loud thrumming, thunder-like sound and the crackle of lightning. The air around him became charged; he could feel the ions brushing against his skin. Death had a rather strange feel, like that time he had been blasted by that one mage's Thunder spell…but there was no pain. Only an ear-shattering metallic screech told him that something strange was happening.

Marth's eyes flew open. In front of him, mere feet from his face, Zero was convulsing wildly as electricity coursed through its body. Marth looked towards the "thunder." The plane! Tails had managed to get the plane engine started just in time for the swordsman. Suddenly, Marth saw the ground below him move. Turning his head, he caught a glimpse of blue feathers as the scenery changed rapidly. Falco was dragging him away from the automaton.

And not a moment too soon. Zero's screams went so high that Tails had to cover his ears. The robot then began to explode in a brilliant fireball of burning machinery. As suddenly as the tank of a droid had appeared, all of its mechanical life ended. The screaming stopped as overloaded circuits roasted the droid inside out, turning it into a pile of slag.

For several long moments everything was still, the only sound being the hum of the biplane's engine, which slowly began to wind down. As the motor stopped humming, Marth became vaguely aware of laughter behind him. The chuckles became full-blown peals of mirth. Falco's voice was soon joined by Knuckles', then Sonics, then Marth's own. Soon, the entire field seemed to be shaking with the victory over the mechanical monster that once was E-100 "Zero" Alpha.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

"Are you sure you have to go so soon?" Tails' eyes were pleading, but they also showed that he understood. Sonic rested an open palm on his younger friend's head.

"Sorry, Tails, but we've still got a mission to finish. Plus, hopefully the next area will have some medical place where we can rest." Sonic had made a valid point. Most of the Smashers had burns that would need treatment. Lucario's burn had ended up worse than anyone thought. The jackal-like Aura master was now draped limply in Ike's arms, fainted from the constant burn damage. Marth was being helped by Falco, and Strawberry was trying unsuccessfully to lick the blood off of her face. Most of the Smashers were in no condition to fight anymore, but they had to go on. Their friends and their shared world were all at stake.

"I understand. Just be careful, alright?" Tails bumped fists with Sonic as Strawberry lead the way towards the ruins. She was followed by Ike and Lucario, then Meta Knight, then Squirtle, then Marth and Falco, who exchanged a violent glance with Knuckles. Leave it to Lombardi to start a rivalry with one of their most potent allies. Sonic waved goodbye one last time as he raced off to catch up with the rest of the group.

As the Smashers retreated towards the temple, Amy, hand cradled in a sling whipped up by Tails, looked at her two friends. "I hope they'll be alright. Of course, Sonic's with them, so they'll be fine." Tails just grinned while Knuckles shook his head. Some things never changed, no matter how strange the circumstances were.

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**"Oh my lord, I'm sorry that I took so long. Things have kept popping up and this was the best chance I had to finish this chapter, which sat half-done for way too long. Okay, time to explain.**

**"'Zero' is Amy's final boss and continual tormentor in Sonic Adventures. He's nearly indestructible and was only beaten when shocked by an electric fence. I figured that he could be rebuilt and used here, since he was basically a success except for poor circumstances. Also, the robots from last chapter and the start of this one are based off or E-102 Gamma, Zero's 'younger sibling,' so to speak. It's been copied a lot, so I figured I'd copy him again! How original, right?**

**"Third, Anri is Marth's ancestor. He receives Falchion 100 years ago and used it to be a hero. More on that when we reach Altea…oh, crap, I gave away a chapter XD!**

**"Finally, most of us know what happens when we leave a Pokémon out of its Pokeball for too long when it has a damaging condition. It loses health and eventually faints. That holds true for Lucario, as does the fact that he'll need a Revive or a Pokémon Center before he wakes up. Sorry, fans.**

**"The little LXZ part at the beginning is a gift for my friend and constant reviewer, LxZrulez. Thank you! Also, thanks to those who reviewed my April Fool's Day songfic. I still sing it, though I have to look up my lyrics again XP. But that's easy since I have them!**

**"Ciao chow, people. I don't know when I'll have the next chapter out, but I'll be sure to write it eventually. Auf Wiedersehen!" **


	8. Portal Four: Shadow Moses Island

**Fox and Foxpilot are walking down the hallway towards the stage. They seem to be discussing something. "I know you're angry about the start of the last episode. That's why I want to make it up to you. If you'd please listen for a moment, I'll tell you some information that'll save you a lot of hassle."**

**"Ugh, fine. But this had better be quick. We're about to start."**

**"I know. Anyway, I learned that you can save a bunch of money on your Arwing insurance by switching to Geico!" Fox stares at his human companion skeptically. "It's true! Since Snake came here, the Earth companies have been setting up shop. I did some research, and many companies are using the Smash world to branch out to other places. Geico already has agents in Lylat, and if you talk to one for all of fifteen minutes, you can save fifteen percent or more!"**

**Fox stares for a bit longer before relenting. "Alright…I'll call it even if you're info's correct. Deal?" Foxpilot nods his head and smiles innocently before walking on.**

**"Welcome once again to 'Blue Sun!' As usual, I'm your author and host, Foxpilot! But something's different this time." F-p points to his head, which has a hat on it. "I have an awesome new Feodora! I'll be wearing this on and off depending on how I feel.**

**"I would now like to extend my thanks to Missybeautimus and Hawktakesflight for being constant reviewers, especially since they're nice reviewers and not mean like others can be! If you're reading this and you're one of those, you know what I mean.**

**"Also, it occurred to me that I never announced the results of the 'Strawberry: live or die' poll. The results were unanimous! With a grand total of one vote, her fate has been decided. If you want to know what the decision was, look at the reviews, because I'm keeping it a secret until the end! Now, here for the disclaimer is my best fighter, Wolf!"**

**Wolf steps out onto the stage holding a shredded paper. "Yeah, yeah, I tore it a bit. But I think I got it. 'Own Foxpilot Bros. bad Mode not Story Smash Wolf guy Super a does he would did if be in.' Meh, figure it out yourselves." Wolf walks off stage.**

**"Lazy-ass jerk. Basically, if I owned SSB, Wolf would have been a bad guy in SSE, alright? Let it…Begin!"**

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

Fox removed one sleeve from his flight jacket, wiped his brow with the hem of the sleeve, and then removed the jacket completely. While the coat was useful for keeping warm in the extreme cold of space, here in this…what did Snake call it, Hell? Yeah, in this hell, the heavy covering was just too much. Fox followed this up with the removal of his communications helmet. The metal was becoming warm and the sweat underneath it had soaked his fur. Fox rubbed the spot vigorously in an attempt to bring the tamped-down fur back to normal. He managed to do so, but his paw was sodden in sweat as a result.

Feeling eyes on him, Fox looked to his right. What he saw was grotesque, strange, and very wrong: Wolf making faces at him. Fox half-closed his eyes in annoyance. "What are you doing? You must be bored to resort to making faces."

Wolf growled, flipping his good eyelid back into place. "I am! We've been here for over a day, and I can hardly move! The least you can do is play along, pup!" Wolf pressed his face against his bubble, flattening the fur on the right side of his muzzle comically. When the lupine pulled away, his hair stayed in its new position.

Fox sighed. It was true; they had been in the heart of this unusual inferno for a long time now. Unbidden, the shaky memories of how he had ended up in a bubble in the middle of a great ball of fire unfolded themselves for the umpteenth time.

(_Flashback_)

Fox looked over at the bar where Falco was bugging Wolf. The vulpine couldn't help but grin stupidly as his rival punched out his teammate. Yes, each of the creatures from Lylat had drunk too much at this party. Fox himself was only buzzed, but he wouldn't pass any Arwing flight tests for a few hours.

Back in the circle, Lucario was attempting a rather stupid stunt in order to bypass Pikachu. It was going to jump off of the back of the couch and attempt to land on its head, and then spin around on its scalp. Fox's response to this was to try and catch the Aura user before it got too competitive. Unfortuneately, the pilot tripped before reaching the crazed Pokémon, who had clearly consumed something funny that combated its usually calm nature. Fox rolled over several times, becoming dizzy. In the background, Fox heard a distinct _thump_, a soft, "ow," and the laughter of many.

Standing up slowly, Fox felt his stomach give way to the disorientation from rolling over himself. Eyes widening, the fearless vulpine ran for the bathroom, hoping against everything that he wouldn't ruin the party by…

About three minutes of emptying dinner, dessert, and drink into a toilet bowl later, Fox was rinsing out his mouth in the sink to get the taste of alcohol-laced bile out of his maw. Looking in the mirror, he reflected on how Krystal would go crazy if she knew he had drunk himself to this point. Krystal…how he missed her, the star in his eyes, the blueberry in his salad…yep, still somewhat drunk.

Fox managed to come to grips with his night being over. Standing as tall as he could, the pilot made his way quietly upstairs into the room he shared with Luigi. Pulling a drawer to his dresser open and working his paw to the back, Fox pulled out a small box and opened it. Inside was a beautiful ring. The band was 14K gold with a white gold trim, and three diamonds sat side-by-side on the top. This was it, the ring he would use in a few weeks when he could return to Lylat for a break. He'd call up General Peppy, maybe do a party line with Bill. Right in front of everyone, he would ask Krystal…

Fox let out a loud yawn. No more reflecting or scheming for tonight; time for bed. Closing the box gently over the ring, Fox put the cube into his pocket and flopped down on a bed—he wasn't sure who's—and fell asleep.

Fox's sensitive ears picked up something, his naturally adept hearing alerting the vulpine to trouble. As his eyes opened, McCloud became aware of a splitting headache, the result of last night's little celebration. Looking over at the clock, Fox did his best to make out the blurry image and turn it into legible numbers. "Two…no, three…another three…and an eight…no, a nine. Three thirty-nine in the morn…who's up at this crazy time?" Fox looked over to the other side of his room—turned out he landed in his own bed after all—and saw Luigi face-planted into his pillow. The high-jumping plumber was sound asleep, so it couldn't be him.

Fox rolled out of bed, narrowly avoiding colliding with the floor in the process. As he turned towards the noise, a kind of rushing-crackling sound, he could tell through his foggy thinking that it was getting closer. Going against logic and following instinct, Fox opened the door in time to meet with a blinding flash and the sensation not unlike Pikachu using Thunder on him in mid-air.

(_End_)

"Fox…Fox…hey, pup, get your head back on Corneria!" Wolf's voice brought fox out of his remembrance. "Hey pup, whatcha got there?" Fox looked down to see that he was holding the box he had stuffed away all that time ago. Crap.

"N-nothing. Just a box I picked up before going to sleep." Wolf snorted in disbelief. "What, don't believe me? Or are you just attracted to my sweaty body?" Wolf blanched and searched McCloud's face to see if he was serious or not. Eventually, Wolf turned away to bug Ness, who was on the lupine's right. "Is Wolf into me? Oh no, I hope not," muttered the freaked-out vulpine. "At least he's not watching me like a stalker anymore." Fox stared down at the roiling floor. By whatever gods, goddesses, or other deities there were, he hoped that they could get out of here soon.

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Cold and wet were the two things that Squirtle felt first. Though the turtle was used to it, being an excellent swimmer, it was still a surprise and a massive change from the blazing area they were just in. "Squirtle squirt squirt squirrrrttlllle!!"

Strawberry looked Squirtle quizzically, reminding it that the group translator was not functional at the moment. Squirtle hung its head and stared at the ground. The earth was soft enough to sink into, brilliantly white, and freezing cold…Snow! Squirtle let out a yell of joy and immediately buried itself in the frozen water, poking its head out of the ice to breathe while the cold soothed its sore shell. "Squiiiiirrrrrr…"

The rest of the team looked at Squirtle and understood what it was doing. Instantly, those with burns were racing to soothe their injuries. Marth sank his arm into the snow, while Ike laid Lucario on its front and flopped over next to the fainted Pokémon. The snow around Strawberry was covered with dark red flakes as the blue vixen scrubbed away at her face with a paw. Meta Knight didn't seem to do anything differently; rather, he moved off a ways to examine their surroundings. Sonic and Falco stood, complaining bitterly to each other about the wet and cold respectively.

Soon, the Smashers had each had their fill of the snow and its cooling properties. As Ike stood up in an attempt to look dignified, he gazed around the area, which appeared to be some sort of compound, and looked for something familiar. Each of the previous areas had been related to stages in some way. Surely this place would be no different.

"Shadow Moses." The calm voice startled the mercenary, who kept his jump of surprise hidden by pretending to stretch. Ike turned to the Star Warrior questioningly.

"What makes you say that?" Though Ike questioned the idea that the knight had related, he did have to admit that the analysis made sense. The compound was cold, snowy, and had a militaristic feel to it. As recognition dawned on the mercenary, Meta Knight just looked at him with eyes that just screamed with an "I told you so" look. "Shut up, Meta."

By this point, the others that were awake had observed their surroundings and had come to the same conclusion. Off to the left and right were some searchlight towers and behind them was a large, open door. The searchlights were off, signifying that the base was abandoned. As the Smashers entered the doorway to warm up their bodies some and plan their next move, their footsteps kicked up dust that had accumulated, signifying that the complex, or at least this specific area, hadn't been touched in a long time.

The lights were dim in the room, most of it coming from the setting sun outside. The hall was a large area and contained what appeared to be a large pile of junk. Marth, Falco, Ike, and Sonic started looking for light switches while the others looked for a way deeper into the base. Maybe there was some medical equipment they could use.

"Ah! Got it! How's this?" Falco's voice preceded his action of turning on the lights in the room. The pile of scrap in the center of the room was suddenly highlighted in a shower of dust. Though the paint was faded and the hulk was covered in a thick dust, the broken form of Metal Gear REX was still a splendor to behold. "Huh, so that's what that was. Thought it was fam—."

Falco was cut off as a Klaxon began to blare. After a few seconds, the siren lost intensity to make way for a mechanical voice. "How are you intruders? All this base are belong to us. It is on the way to destruction." The Smashers were looking around, confused. The base was going to be destroyed? Squirtle hid behind Ike, who challenged the voice.

"Ha! You think we'll be scared by your little threat? We've faced worse than a random destruction! Plus, you sound like some kind of badly-translated simulation!"

The voice continued, ignoring Ike like a machine would be wont to do. "No one has chance to survive make your time. Hahaha! Countdown T-minus thirty-one minutes."

There were several moments of silence, as though the beings present were expecting somebody to com over the intercom and announce that the whole thing was a prank. When no such assurances came, the team began to slowly panic. This terror accelerated when they heard the unmistakable sound of a countdown commencing. _Beep…beep…beep_.

Falco rushed back and joined the fear-filled group. "So…any ideas on how to stop this? There's always some way to stop a bomb!"

Marth looked a little more nervous. "I think we should just leave and let the bomb go off. This place is empty except for us, right? Nobody will be hurt and whatever conspiracies were here will lay buried forever."

Ike turned to the Altean. "What's wrong, Marth? You scared of a little explosion? Come on, we can't let that bomb go off! The people of this country wouldn't like that; plus, who knows how far the explosion would go? I think Snake once said that there was a village nearby. We don't have time to evacuate them!" The conscious Smashers affirmed their belief in Ike's proposition.

"Okay, Falco and I will go looking for the control center to the base to see if we can stop the countdown. The security system's probably automated, so if we can get into the computer, we can shut it down. Sonic and Meta Knight should find the source of the explosive, in case we can't get into the mainframe. The rest of you should stay here." Strawberry made for the door. "Let's go!"

Falco glared at Strawberry like she was crazy. "I don't know how to hack a computer! And I doubt anyone here knows how to disarm a bomb! Still, I can always force my way into a computer, and if all else fails, Meta can just try cutting the red wire. Meh, fine, since we ain't gettin' off this island without saving it like the buncha heroes we are, then I guess we're gonna have to look for a way to shut the place down. Good luck, guys!" Falco followed as Strawberry put her nose to the ground, attempting to scent _something_ through the dust and debris.

"So, any idea what this bomb looks like?" Sonic's lame joke had a point. Nobody except Snake knew how bombs in this place were made or looked. They would have to guess at where the bomb was.

As the five pondered the location and potential shape of the mass explosive, a metallic grinding pierced their heads. Whipping around as one, the Smashers saw as the large gun attached to the wreck of Metal Gear REX slowly shoved its way downwards; it was possible that the sound vibrations of the klaxon had caused the weak structure to shift. Soon, the bottom of the barrel touched the ground. Hoping to assure the others that there was nothing wrong, Ike went over to the gun and peered into its barrel. A hole that had rusted in the top of the gun let a little light into the back of the barrel. Through this light, Ike saw that the gun was in fact loaded. But what disturbed him was the symbol on the front of the projectile: a faded yellow circle with three faded yellow triangle that met in the center. Hadn't Samus taught everyone that such a symbol meant "nuclear danger?"

As Ike pulled back to tell the others that there was a dangerous weapon in the cannon, an earth-shattering crash filled the roofless hanger. The Smashers were speechless as slowly, the broken form of REX shuddered, one leg planted firmly on the ground. Ever so slowly, the enormous mech stood on its other leg. It slowly dawned on Ike what was happening. The metal creature in front of the small group was still active and under the control of the base's security system. And it was capable of firing nuclear energy-filled bombs. And the gun was pointed…

…Right down at the floor of the base.

MGSMGSMGSMGSMGSMGSMGS

"So how far until we get to the control center?" Falco and Strawberry had been running for about three minutes now. Though the vulpine seemed to know where she was going, Falco had a sneaking suspicion that she had chosen a direction at random in the hopes of finding the room at random.

"Not much further. I think that this is the door up ahead!" Indeed, the door in question did look rather official. But in a military base, everything could be called such. Still, it was worth a shot. Rushing forward, Falco placed a solid running kick in the center of the door, forcing the portal to open. The results were less than pleasant.

Inside were a number of strange machines, each more gruesome than the last. The walls were splattered with what looked to be blood that had dried years earlier. Though there was no sign of anything living here now, the thought of innocent people being cruelly punished here made Falco angry. This was only compounded by his frustration at going the wrong way. "I thought you said that this was the way to the control room!"

"Well, it is kind of a 'control room.' Here, someone can control the fate of a living being." Straw's philosophical reasoning was lost on the steamed avian at her side. Frustrated, Falco pulled out his blaster and destroyed what looked like a work station with a few well-aimed shots. Scraps of metal and wiring littered the floor where it once stood. Strawberry looked at Falco in an annoyed way. "Did you really need to do that?" The avian just glared back.

"What exactly were you following to get here?" Falco's arrogant tone was heavily obscured by irritation. They were wasting time! As willing as Falco was to save the base and keep the Smashers' operations a secret, if they didn't find the control center soon, there would be no time to break into the computers.

"I tried to follow a scent, but all I could smell were mice and rats. So I followed those. Once we passed the mess hall, I thought we'd find a way from there. I guess I was wrong…sorry."

Why didn't you try to ask one of the animals to lead us?"

"Like I said, mice and rats. I don't think they'd be willing to help." Falco looked at her like she was crazy. "Oh, right, you've evolved past eating each other. While you Lylatians may have surpassed the instinct to consume each other for food, the animals here would fear natural predators, like foxes." Falco's questioning look deepened. "Foxes eat mice and rats in non-Lylat places. Clear enough?" Falco finally understood this and responded by rolling his eyes and turning away.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's just find a map or somethin'. We don't have time to waste anymore.

MGSMGSMGSMGSMGSMGSMGS

Back in the garage area, the sentient and awake members of the group was discussing how to disarm the bomb. "We should try to destroy the machine. That's always worked before, right?" Sonic's suggestion was shot down by Meta Knight.

"We don't know what that thing is capable of. We've been lucky before, but against Tabuu we met our match. Only because Dedede had planted some contraptions on a few Smashers did we even get a second chance to destroy him."

"Maybe if we get into the gun we can bring the bomb out?" Ike was shot down by Marth this time.

"Too dangerous. You're probably the only one who can lift that thing normally, and you can't fit in the gun barrel." Marth turned to Meta Knight. "I think I see a glow not unlike a computer in that thing's 'head.' Of all of us, you're the best with machines. Maybe you can pilot it and point the weapon away?" All eyes turned to the living orb expectantly. It seemed to be their best bet at the time.

"Fine, I'll see what I can do." Using his wings, Meta Knight leapt up to the 'head' of REX and climbed in. Once he had settled into a position where he could reach most of the controls, the masked fighter began unsuccessfully to try and steer the mechanical missile launcher into a different position; the controls had been locked by a security system. "I can't move it! I need some sort of passcode to even try to pilot this thing!"

The hopes for undermining the base's security system began to fade rapidly. There was no news from Falco and Strawberry and the beast with the bomb was uncontrollable. There seemed to be no way to win this one.

MGSMGSMGSMGSMGSMGSMGS

"Finally!" Falco and Strawberry had managed to reach the control room. After forcing the door open, the duo entered the area and began to look for the central computer. They didn't have to look very hard; it was down near the front of the room. "Okay, now all we gotta do is unlock this thing and delete the security system, right?"

"It probably won't be that easy. This is a high-security facility, so the codes will probably be complex." Strawberry cast her gaze doubtfully around the room. "Maybe we can find a clue to what the codes are."

"Well what're we waiting for? You look low and I'll search high! Let's go!" Falco started by opening the drawers of the desk. Inside were several interesting items, but none of them contained codes. Falco picked up an old chocolate bar. "Well, whoever lived here, they liked candy."

It took a good ten minutes of searching. Every time Strawberry found a piece of paper with writing on it, she brought it to Falco to be deciphered. For the first twenty-six times, the paper was some sort of report or an inventory of items. The twenty-seventh time, though, revealed an interesting twist.

"Item 209: Nuclear warheads (20). Status: received." Falco didn't have to go any further. Presumably, the former inhabitants would have removed these weapons of mass destruction, but if they hadn't…"This base is gonna be destroyed by a nuke?! What are these people thinking, leaving dangerous explosives unguarded in an abandoned facility? Wait…ah! I think these are the codes! Good find, Straw! Now, let's shut down the security system before the nuke goes off. We have…twelve minutes?! Jeez Laweeze, this is insane!" Falco wasted no more time, typing the code into the computer. He was immediately rewarded by a "Welcome" screen.

Falco went straight for the "Programs" menu once the programs had loaded. Ten-and-a-half minutes left. Falco found a number of strange programs, some more couth than others. Eventually, he came upon a file that seemed promising. "'Patriots Security,' huh? Well, I guess that's it." Falco tried to open the application and was rewarded with a millisecond-by-millisecond countdown until the base's destruction. Unimpressed, Falco tried telling the computer to halt the process. He was met with a message telling him to input the code. Falco tried the start-up code, but it was denied. "Straw, go back to where you found that code before and see if you can find something else!" Four minutes, twenty-eight seconds.

Strawberry ran off, returning about a minute later with a whole stack of papers. "I just took everything with writing on it." Falco snatched the papers and looked over them. Invoice, report, invoice, invoice, report, a signed picture of some human wearing some sort of sports outfit, some sort of identity card…"What the heck kind of name is 'Revolver Ocelot?'" Finally, a code sheet was uncovered. One minute, thirty-three seconds left.

Falco entered the first code into the computer, which was denied. Realizing that this code was the same one as the login password, Falco cursed under his breath and tried the second code. Immediately, the countdown stopped. A voice came over the loudspeaker. "Destruction of base cancelled. Please use uninstall code to remove the Patriots system from the base, Ocelot." Falco stared quizzically at the computer as one more box popped up. After exchanging glances with his blue vulpine compatriot, Falco shrugged and entered the code. "Congratulations, Ocelot. Objective completed. Patriots system shutting down and removing self from mainframe." As the textbox with these words faded, the security program shut down and the computer went into a restart process.

As Falco got up to leave, Strawberry said, "The next portal's in this room. If you can find your way back, go get the others while I open it up." Falco gave a cocky grin and strode off. "Arrogent bird, but he really does come through in a pinch. Hopefully his cockiness won't get us killed."

MGSMGSMGSMGSMGSMGSMGS

Falco strode into the garage and hailed his companions. In turn, they came over to the smiling avian and expressed their congratulations. Eventually, Sonic broke the news to the avian about the nuclear bomb.

"I know. We found an inventory thing saying that there were a bunch here. Good thing we stopped the explosion, huh? It would have taken out the nearby town. But that's what happens when you put me on the job; things get done and done right. Now c'mon! Let's get outta here before somebody breaks somethin'!"

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

**"Oh man, there's so much crap to explain here. Might as well begin. First, we see what happened to Lucario at the beginning for him to end up passed out on the couch after the party. Then, there's the ring, which reveals my loyalty to the FoxXKrystal pairing. Of course, if you saw my profile, you'd already know that. Next, Wolf's NOT being gay for Fox, nor vice-versa. Wolf was bored and Fox was being snarky.**

**"Next, In SF: Assault, Falco clearly expresses his dislike for the cold on the Fichina level. It also states that on his Assault trophy in Brawl. Be warned, the following contains major spoilers for the Metal Gear Solid series, including MGS4. These are found on a Wiki because I never actually played a Metal Gear game.**

**"Shadow Moses, or more specifically, REX, is not under the control of the Patriots system, a computer network governing the political and military lives of the people in the Metal Gear series. REX is supposed to be the only weapon not under its control in MGS4, so I decided to explain that. Revolver Ocelot is a member of FOXHOUND, the espionage organization that Snake used to belong to. His secret mission through the series was to destroy the Patriots system, which Falco helps him do unwittingly. And according to a comic I once read, which may make this info untrue since it was fan-made, there was a village near Shadow Moses. Next, I figured that after Snake disabled REX, they never got the nuke in the rail gun out (the big thing on the right shoulder is the warhead launcher). This fits perfectly into the story line.**

**"The torture chamber we see is one of Revolver Ocelot's pastimes. He captures Snake and tortures him there during the first Shadow Moses incident (yes, there were more than one). Snake escapes, but I guess that they never took the facility apart.**

**"Finally, can anyone spot the meme I adapted to this? It's rather obvious. I do not own the game that it came from in any way, shape, or form.**

**"Ugh, I think that's it. If you have any questions, I'll answer them next time. Ciao chow."**


	9. Portal Five: Sinnoh in Pokeland

**It was Toon Link's turn to find Foxpilot; a task that most found annoying because of his inconsistency in terms of mood and location. But TL knew where he was this time; he had passed that spot not five minutes ago.**

**TL came out into the courtyard of the…place…where the event was hosted. As predicted, there was the over-age author. He seemed to be typing on his laptop, while listening to music. As Toony drew closer, he heard a tune that brought a wave of nostalgia to the youth's heart. "The Molgera battle theme?"**

**If Foxpilot was surprised, he didn't show it. "Yep. Always a favorite when I play on the Pirate Ship stage, so I found it. Anyway, time for the show?" F-p looked up and Toony nodded. "Right then, let's go."**

**"Ladies, gentlemen, and other creatures of all genders, I welcome you back to "'The Week of Blue Sun!'" Thunderous applause filled the auditorium at the author's announcement. "It's been a while, I know, but I've been busy working on school stuff and other stories. However, I have another chapter of the story here for you to entertain yourselves with!**

**"Before we start, I would like to welcome Laguzgirl13 to the small family of reviewers, as well as thank her for her support. And, as per request, you'll see some Yoshi in this chapter. Now, here to start us off is Lucario!" Lucario steps out to applause and chanting.**

**"Ahem… 'Foxpilot does not own Smash Bros. If such a person were to own Smash Bros., they would not be able to handle the pressure and would collapse in a meltdown the moment the next game had to be delayed.' That's pretty bad, really."**

**"I know, but I hate pressure. It's so pressing, yah? Right then, time for the fun. Let it…Begin!"**

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

Was it just him or was the light in the center of the blaze getting brighter all the time? When he tried to express this to his old friend, to his right, the plumber started as though he'd seen a ghost…again. Luigi must have either been deep in thought or deep in fear. "W-w-what's-a that, Yoshi? The li-light? Uh, ye-yeah, now that-a you mention it, it-a does seem-a to be brighter."

"Yoshi yoshi yoshi nnnaaaaaauuuuuunnnng!" What sounded like gibberish to the untrained ear was easily read by the experienced friend of the Yoshis. Luigi made his best attempt to smile, but it was so thin that his moustache covered most of it.

"Th-the light is-a pretty, I-a suppose." Just talking to his old friend seemed to calm the plumber-turned-reluctant-hero. Luigi went from a cross-legged position to a reclining pose. Taking his recognizable cap off to fan himself, the younger of the Mario Brothers blew air out from under his substantial lip hair and muttered, "It's-a too hot to worry, Yoshi. I-a think that I'll-a take a nap." And true to his word, the gentle jumper put his hat over his eyes and began to breathe deeply. Soon, the breaths, once quiet, turned rough and phlegm-filled. All throughout, Yoshi watched apprehensively. His kind and moderate nature led to a quick friendship with Luigi when Mario first introduced them all those years ago. Now Yoshi looked upon the green-clad brother with concern. The plumber had been among the first to give up hope, despite the constant reassurances from Zelda and Mario. Yoshi looked to his right in a n attempt to catch the former's eye, but she was arguing loudly with Ganon about…something or another.

Though the Yoshi as a species were used to pretty much all climates, as their home island managed to culminate almost any biome one could think of into one space, even the green dinosaur-creature couldn't take the constant heat of the flames that licked the spheres protecting the Smashers. A quick glance around the fire-entombed room showed that many of the other fighters were succumbing as well. Snake had taken off his bandana and had hidden under his box; at least I kept most of the heat out, though it didn't release any pent-up hat air, either. Pikachu had curled up and seemed to be moaning softly in response to the oppressive warmth. Captain Falcon had gone so far as to remove his helmet, revealing his face for the first time since…since before the first battles had been set up. Overall, it seemed that everyone was suffering immensely—suffering in a way that Yoshi could only wish to help alleviate. But even the saddled Smasher was feeling tired. The warmth was sapping even his incredible appetite. There was no way around it; if they didn't get out soon, they would all bake to death in this immeasurable inferno.

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

The sailor on the shore of the lake stretched and relaxed, reclining against the tree. Though Route 218 was not directly along the ocean, its proximity to water helped him feel at ease when he took a break out in nature. His boat hadn't had much work, and the kid that usually came by every so often to battle was supposedly busy somewhere else—rumor had it that the pre-teen, an expert Pokémon trainer who could kick the butt of everyone on the route at once, was in "special training" on a large island far to the northeast. The sailor had seen the report of how a ten-year-old child, this child, had utterly annihilated the force of the former Sinnoh Pokémon League Champion in a shocking display of power, courage, and perseverance. Now that kid—nay, young adult—was at a special training ground for the best of the best. Or that's what the rumors said, at least.

The ocean-farer's thoughts were interrupted by the crackling of electricity. Looking over to the southeast, the sailor tried to catch a glimpse of the guitarist training his Luxio—or was it a Luxray now? Seeing no sign of the trainer that was there usually, the sailor cast his gaze to the sky. Beautiful and cloudless. How strange; the air felt charged as though a storm was brewing, yet there was no sign of anything electric.

"Hey, this place is nice." The sailor cut his eyes to the right, noticing a bizarre rodent standing outside of some strange phenomenon. The entity, the source of the electricity, it seemed, appeared to be a spawning more creatures, as a tall blue bird, apparently bipedal, stepped out next.

"Hey, this is some place. It's like a Cornerian park. There're some trees, a load of grass, a clear sky, and over there's some water." The avian looked over at the sailor, who was slowly reaching for his Pokeballs. "Hey, Sonic? I think I know which world we're in this time."

Before Sonic could respond, the clearing rang out with a battle cry. "Go, Mantyke! Go, Gyarados!" The seaman threw his two orbs over the nearby water. The orbs opened, revealing an enormous sea serpent and a large, if cute, manta ray. The sea snake roared angrily, while the manta swam in a circle, jumping occasionally as though it was celebrating freedom.

"Uh, Falco, are those what I think they are?"

"Yep. Pokémon. And this guy thinks he can catch us."

"Well this is a problem." The blue anthropomorphic animals looked down at Strawberry, who was looking concerned. "We may not be able to be caught in Pokeballs, but we certainly can't get in a fight at this moment." It was true. None of them were in any condition to fight after such hard travelling without rest.

"Hey, whoa, only one at a time, you guys! You all look strong enough to beat that kid, if he ever comes back, but I've gotta catch you all first!" The sailor seemed to be panicking a bit. A quick look behind them revealed that Meta Knight and Squirtle had come through the portal. No wonder the trainer was freaking out; he was outnumbered by more than two-to-one. "So, which one of you wants to be caught?"

Falco gave the man a fierce glare. "We're not Pokémon, you idiot. We're…uh, we're…"

"What's going on this time?" The weariness in Marth's voice was obvious as he stepped back into reality. At the sight of Falchion, the sea-faring trainer balked.

"A-are these y-y-your Pokémon? I-I'm sorry, I-I thought they were some new species or something!" Marth looked at the panicking sailor confusedly. So they were in the realm of the Pokémon Trainer? That explained the strange creatures glaring at the standoff intently, waiting for the new arrivals to even blink threateningly.

"What's the matter this time?" Ike came through last, carrying Lucario in his arms.

"This guy thinks we're Pokémon! Of all the nerve! I oughtta beat the crap outta him for thinkin' that!" Falco's boast seemed to truly scare the sailor, who reacted in a less-than-pleasant way.

"Gyarados, use Twister! Mantyke, use Bubblebeam!" The large water snake, apparently called "Gyarados," used its power to create a storm of wind and energy, which travelled towards the group. Simultaneously, the manta began to fire large, rapid bubbles from its mouth.

The Smashers took action immediately, as they had trained to do. Meta Knight intercepted the windstorm with his Mach Tornado, spinning in the opposite direction to cancel it out. Falco used his Reflector to defend against the incoming bubbles, reflecting most of the beam back towards the origin Pokémon. Though a few of the water spheres managed to land hits, the majority of the bubbles were forced to change direction. The Mantyke wasn't able to dodge quickly enough and was struck by the multipart beam. Though injured, the manta-like creature was able to recover from the reversed onslaught.

The sailor merely stared. "Th-that's incredible. You were able to nullify my attacks! Who are you?!"

Ike stepped up. "My friend here, Marth, and I are special trainers from far away. These are our Pokémon, special breeds from a far-off land known simply as Smash." This drew glares from the rest of the Smashers, who clearly weren't pleased at being considered pets, but Ike ignored this. "Few know about it and fewer live there. Now if you'll excuse us, we have injured friends to attend to. Which is the way to the nearest doctor?"

"I'll tell you if you beat me in a Pokémon battle!" The sailor, whose pride was on the line, wouldn't let the group go so easily. Ike held up a finger to signify that they needed a moment and drew everyone into a huddle.

"What do you think you're doin', callin' us Pokémon? The only ones of those here are Lucario and Squirtle, who can't battle anyway!" Squirtle growled in offence, while Lucario just reclined in Ike's arms.

"Look, if you're not Pokémon in this world, then you're going to raise questions. Unlike you, I paid attention while Red talked. I think that the best way for us to continue is if somebody just beats this guy's Pokémon up so we can go find a place to rest." Marth made a valid point, but Falco still retained his indignation.

"Fine, if that's the fastest way through here, then I gusee I'll play along. But I don't like it. As for pummeling this guy's friends…I dunno…this guy seems like an idiot. I bet Lucario could beat him as is. Let me take care of this. Those guys seem like Water-types considering they seem to like that lake. My Blaster and Reflector should make quick work of this guy." Since nobody seemed to disagree, Ike straightened out and called to the sailor.

"Okay, you're on. I'll let Falco fight you."

"I'll judge." All eyes turned to Marth. "What? Red said that most matches have a judge to determine when a Pokémon is no longer able to fight."

"Accepted. Gyarados, you're first!" The enormous snake roared as Mantyke backed off to allow its companion room to battle.

Falco stepped forward from the group and sized up his opponent. "Man, that thing is big…and ugly." His foe roared its protest. This seemed to actually shake Falco a little bit, as he stepped back a pace. He covered up his uncharacteristic slip by using that step to go into a fighting stance.

Marth stepped up to the side of the makeshift battlefield and raised his good arm. "Here, we have Falco versus…uh…Gyarados, right?" The sailor nodded in confirmation. "Okay, Falco versus Gyarados. Winner goes on to the next round. Ready…begin!" Marth swept his arm down in a chopping motion, signifying the start of the match.

"Gyarados, use Leer!" The serpent in question narrowed its eyes and leaned in, as though scrutinizing its puny foe. Falco blanched, not realizing that this was the effect of the move. "Now, use Dragon Rage!" Gyarados responded promptly, using its body to form a whirlpool that spouted a sort of twister. Falco took a look and braced himself to dodge. As the whirlwind approached, Falco charged his Fire Bird. The mini-cyclone drew closer…closer…

"Fire!" Falco launched himself to the side, causing his opponent's move to miss by a hair. Rolling on the ground to regain his balance, Falco tumbled until he was on his feet and winged hands. As he came up into a pouncing position, Lombardi pulled out his Blaster and powered it up. As the Gyarados recovered from its intense attack, Falco stood, got into a firing stance, and began to shoot the Pokémon. The electric charges of the laser traced a line up the water snake's massive body. Gyarados could only flinch as Falco's blaster scored hit after hit. Though weak, the power of the shots compounded and soon drove the creature back.

"Gyarados, get under the water!" At its trainer's desperate plea, the Pokémon began to submerege. But as its head passed the lineup of Falco's Blaster, the bird triggered one last shot—.

That scored right in the eye. If Gyarados was furious before, it was absolutely livid now. The creature roared deafeningly and plunged under the water. Tense moments passed before the sea snake rose again and aimed its jaws directly for the offending avian.

Falco could only stare in horror as the enraged creature dove towards him. Moments seemed like minutes, seconds like hours. Finally, Falco came up with an idea. Falco curled up into a ball an instant before the creature's mouth hit the ground around him.

Gyarados clamped down on the bird, taking a large hole out of the ground in the process. As the serpent reared back up, Gyarados began to chew on the prize it held within its mouth. Suddenly, the creature stopped. Slowly, imperceptive at first, but then more apparent, the Pokémon keeled over. As its head hit the ground, Falco rolled out, still brandishing his Blaster. Though his clothes had been torn and feathers ripped off, the Lylatian avian stood and blew on the muzzle of his gun. "Don't try me."

Time stopped for an instant as every awake being around began to register what had just happened. Soon, it became clear; Falco had used his Blaster inside of the mouth of Gyarados, despite the crushing force of its jaws, and burned the behemoth from the inside, where it was weaker. The electricity had quickly overwhelmed the sea snake, and shortly after its triumphant rise, Gyarados had succumbed to its injuries and collapsed. Marth shook off the surprise of the situation and delivered his ruling. "Gyarados is unable to battle. Falco wins the round." Falco leapt into the air and came down in a crouching position before glaring at the defeated Pokémon.

"Gyarados, return." The sailor recalled his Pokémon to its Pokeball and stared at Ike. "You've got an impressive Pokémon there, but let's see how it handles my next choice in its condition. You're turn, Mantyke!" The manta Pokémon swam up to the shore and gave Falco its best glare. The sheer cuteness of the look brought a grin to Falco's face.

"I have to fight that? Piece of cake!" Lombardi took up a fighting stance again and brandished his weapon. "This shouldn't take long."

"Round two: Falco versus…Mantite?" The sailor shook his head.

"Close. It's 'Mantyke.'"

"Oh, sorry. Falco versus Mantyke, possibly to determine the match." Marth looked at the sailor again, who nodded. "Okay, this round may determine the match. Ready? Go!" Marth chopped his hand again, signifying the beginning of the second round.

Once again, the sailor reacted first. "Mantyke, Agility!" The manta-like Pokémon began to dash around, invisible except for when it took a "step." Falco did his best to aim at his target, but it was moving too quickly for a proper shot.

"Hold still, ya little…" Falco's growling didn't deter the smaller Pokémon from its tactic. Falco finally got upset and fired at Mantyke, which promptly dodged the attack with ease.

"Now Mantyke, use Bubblebeam!" Mantyke stopped its movements and began to fire bubbles at Falco. Recognizing the move, Falco responded by kicking out his Reflector. The hexagonal energy shield collided with the spray of spheres once again, bouncing many of them back to their origin. The wet weapons slammed into Mantyke, who was pushed back by their force. Falco took the opportunity to use his Blaster to weaken the Pokémon. When it seemed to be sufficiently enervated, Falco went up to the edge of the water to prepare for the final blow.

Not realizing the bird's intent, the sea-faring trainer took advantage of a false chance. "Mantyke, Headbutt!" The rushing charge of the weakened creature was exactly what Falco was hoping for. He charged his side-smash, waiting for just the right moment to strike…

_THWACK_! The two moves collided in midair, sending the two combatants back across their respective terrains. As Falco skidded to a stop on his back, he managed to arch himself forward to see what damage he had done. Indeed, he had caused enough pain previously for his needs; Mantyke lay belly-up in the water a little ways out from the shore, eyes closed. Lombardi forced himself to his feet. "Gotcha."

"Mantyke is unable to battle. The winner of this fight is Falco!" The Smashers clapped as Falco sank to his knee, clearly exhausted from his fight. The sailor recalled his Pokémon then went up to Ike.

"You're quite a trainer; it seems as though your 'Falco' can fight on its own." Falco glared at the sailor as he struggled to his feet. Ike, though, took the compliment in stride.

"Thank you, sir. In fact, most of his training was done on his own."

The sailor clearly didn't understand Ike's meaning. "You caught him recently, huh? Is he a legendary Pokémon?"

Ike grinned sheepishly at Falco, who seemed about ready to burst several blood vessels. "Yeah, he's a legend alright. In more than just his own mind."

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"Finally, a place to relax!" Sonic ignored the stares of the people around him, who were clearly confused as to how a Pokémon of his caliber could speak English. Ike took matters into his hands at this point.

"It's alright, folks! He's…uh, self-taught. Yeah, he's a special Pokémon from a faraway land. We're just here for healing and check-ups, like the rest of you." Slowly, eyes turned back to their previous preoccupations; phone calls, meals, and Pokémon who seemed to have been recently released.

Marth went up to the nurse staffing the counter. "Uh, hi. We're interested in getting our, er, friends looked at. We've seen some rough fighting recently and most of us need healing."

The nurse looked skeptical, but her tone was nonetheless polite. "Very well, then. My name is Nurse Joy. If you and all of your 'friends' could all please come with me into the back, we can sort out treatment options." Marth nodded and motioned for the others to follow him.

Once the door was closed, Nurse Joy took on a more serious look and tone. "So, you're not from around here, are you?" Many of the fighters blinked in surprise as Joy continued. "I know how to treat just about every Pokémon in existence. When a new species is discovered, every Nurse Joy in the world is immediately notified so that they may be able to heal said Pokémon if one happens to come into their hands. Only two of those are really Pokémon; the Lucario and the Squirtle. Where are their Pokeballs, if you really are their trainers?"

Marth sighed. The day was nearly over and they needed to get a good night's rest before moving on. "Okay, look, we're not their trainers. The Lucario is…well, we're pretty sure he's wild. And Squirtle belongs to someone else, who we're trying to help, but isn't available at the time. We're good friends to all of them and right now, we need everyone here rested and healed. We're on a very important mission that must be completed in about four days. We've travelled a long way and we must continue."

Joy remained skeptical, but seemed to understand. "May I see Squirtle's Pokeball? Let me go talk to some people. One of my fifth-cousins may be able to help." Joy walked off, leaving the group to talk amongst themselves about their fate. If they didn't get moving soon, or worse, got arrested, they may never be able to save the Smash Planet.

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Joy came back about twenty minutes later, all smiles. "I see now. Professor Oak cleared everything up. This Squirtle belongs to the trainer known as 'Red,' yes?" Marth and Ike all nodded in confirmation, hope sparking in their eyes. "That's what the Professor said. He also said that Red had been called away to a fighting tournament some time ago, but had returned and told him about some of his new friends. One of them is described like you, Prince Marth." Marth seemed mildly surprised, but asked a question that hadn't been answered yet.

"So you'll help us?"

"Yes. I don't know some of your physiologies, but you can help me in that respect as I treat you. But first, we should send Lucario and Squirtle to the burn care unit. Chancey!" At Joy's melodic call, several pink, egg-shaped Pokémon with nurse's caps stepped forward, chanting their name happily. "Please take Squirtle and Lucario to the burn unit for treatment. I'll be taking care of the rest of our friends personally." Two of the Chancey picked up Lucario and hauled him off, while a third took Squirtle down the same hallway. Joy stopped the fourth and fifth. "I need you to staff the counter for a while, okay?" The pink Pokémon saluted and headed out through the door. "Let's get started shall we? I'm not trained in human anatomy, but Professor Oak says that he trusts me to provide examinations as necessary in this case."

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**BLOOPER!**

Gyarados clamped down on the bird, taking a large hole out of the ground in the process. As the serpent reared back up, Gyarados began to chew on the prize it held within its mouth. Suddenly, the creature stopped. Slowly, imperceptive at first, but then more apparent, the Pokémon keeled over. Soon, the monstrosity was laying face down, top half on the sand. Out of the water crawled a miserable and soaking-wet Falco.

Stawberry backed off, seeming repulsed by something. Soon, everyone could sense the source of the disgust—Falco. Apparently, the bird had crawled out the wrong end of the sea snake. The smell was bad enough to wake Lucario up, who immediately held its nose and groaned.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. The thing swallowed me before I could get out, so shaddup."

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**"I know that this is short, but I wanted to get it out. When I think about it, this needs to be split into at least two chapters because of what comes in the next segment. I hope you enjoyed this little offering in the meantime.**

**"Many of you may notice how I used elements of both the Pokémon games and the anime in this. Many of you shouldn't need explanations about it, but I will say that if you don't recognize something from one, it was probably in the other. Also, I based this off of the Diamond/Pearl release, so if you don't recognize that sailor trainer, you probably only have Platinum version or don't battle him a lot.**

**"Also, I realized that I've neglected to do the bloopers in the past couple of chapters, so I'm sorry. I may go back and fix that. I hope you enjoyed this one, though. Falco seems to get some bad breaks, doesn't he?**

**"I used a few Star Fox/Brawl quotes in here. How many can you find? I hope you enjoyed this, so please don't hate me for how insubstantial it is. Ciao chow**


	10. When in Rome, Play Pokemon

**"Another stupid day, another stupid show." As Ganondorf strode through the halls of the…place…he grumbled continually, alternating between how he hadn't had a decent roll in this story and how he had gotten the short straw and was forced to find Foxpilot for the show. He was pretty sure that Link and Zelda had rigged the "contest of luck," but when he expressed as much, nearly everyone had pointed out that he had no proof. This was proof enough for him, but Ganon knew he couldn't argue with thirty-plus warriors. Two were bad enough!**

**As the King of Evil rounded the next corner, he heard a groan. Following the sound, Ganon turned left into a bathroom, where he found our intrepid and fearless…AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Okay, fine, crazy and lethargic author/host sitting on the counter, looking at his laptop. As the Dark Lord approached, Foxpilot looked up. "Hey. Time for the show already?" Ganon merely nodded in acknowledgement. "Alright, I'm on the way." Foxpilot picked up his laptop without closing it and headed for the door. Ganon followed, trying to catch a glimpse of what the young adult was looking at.**

**"Whatcha got there?"**

**Foxpilot rolled his eyes and snorted. "Porn."**

**"Really? I'll take a look, thank you." As Ganon reached for the laptop, he was hit by a powerful fireball and sent back.**

**"No not really! You know better than to think I'd look that up! I'm looking at North American release dates for the Star Fox games. I've got something planned that I want to release for one. The original's has already passed, SF 64's on July first, and Command's is in August, so I'm going to release it on the July date. Porn, pshuh."**

**Ganon, recovering from the fireball to the torso, slowly fell behind. As he walked the halls, the Dark Thief muttered to himself, "What kind of eighteen-year-old doesn't look up porn?"**

**"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and people of indeterminate or dual gender, I welcome you once again to 'The Week of Blue Sun!'" The crowd goes wild without hesitation. "This isn't any old chapter, though. This is the TENTH CHAPTER!" The crowd whips itself into a spectacular frenzy, causing the auditorium to tremble with their cheers. "One last thing before we begin. I would like to welcome Renee Springer as the newest reviewer!" The crowd's frenzy becomes unbearable, causing the roof to collapse on most of them. "Huh. I guess I'll have to fix that. But first, disclaimer!"**

**"I'll do it." Bowser steps up. "Foxpilot doesn't own Smash Bros. If he did, he would include a 'Bash Mario' mode—." Bowser topples over as he gets hit on the head with the flat of F-p's sword.**

**"Twit. It's called 'Training.' Anyway, I'll fix the stage once we start. Let it…Begin!"**

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_Hot…hot…hot…_The Pokémon Trainer, known commonly as "Red," had one word running through his head, and this was it. He had already taken off his hat and vest, which had been thoroughly soaked with sweat. To his right, Kirby had practically melted, almost living up his reputation as a "giant marshmallow." To his right, ROB seemed to have had some circuits fried, as the droid was twirling its head in circles repeatedly.

Red slumped against his bubble. Though the prison seemed to have no openings whatsoever, sound travelled easily enough. At first, Zelda had been telling everyone to stay hopeful, that things were going to be fine. As time drew on, even her pleas had become whimpers of fear. Everyone with clothing to remove had shed some sort of garment. Ganondorf had removed his torso armor, revealing a horrid white scar on his midriff; Red had heard he'd taken a sword through the ribs and survived to laugh about it. Pit had reluctantly taken his toga off. Though the angel now wore only boxers, nobody was now in the mood for a snide comment.

Olimar was suffering the worst. Because he couldn't breathe "normal" air like the rest of the Smashers, he wasn't able to take off his spacesuit outside of his room, which needed a special enchantment to keep it safe for the cargo-hauler.

A cracking noise made its way through the chamber, drawing the attention of everyone who hadn't fallen asleep or passed out. Looking to the right, Red could see that one of his Pokéballs, in a separate bubble on its own, had begun to split from the heat. The cracking sound increased in frequency until the top of the red-and-white orb began to glow with a white light from within. Finally, after several minutes, the sphere's shell could take no more and exploded. From the Pokéball came a surprised Ivysaur, who was immediately beleaguered by the heat.

A second small explosion from far to the left proved that the same was happening to Charizard's home. The dragon-like creature roared in surprise, which drew a few uncaring glances.

Red sighed. If the heat was destroying the Pokéballs, which were made to hold some of the strongest creatures in existence, then it wouldn't be long before the Smashers themselves were nothing but puddles of sweat and melted organic matter.

The light in the center wasn't much help to the situation. Though it hadn't blocked out everything, the irradiant sphere was hard on the eyes and continued to steadily become more intense. Oddly, the light seemed to be slightly cooling, though it wasn't enough to combat the inferno around the victims.

Red stared up at the ceiling before returning his Pokémon's gazes. The only one who could survive here was Charizard, and even the Fire-type powerhouse would cook eventually.

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_Slam_! Ike's fist actually dented the wall it had hit, showing the warrior's strength and rage. "What do you mean 'Wait and rest?' We don't have time for that! Our friends are in danger and we have to travel who knows how much further to find the only one who can save them! We don't have time to rest or wait! How can you suggest that you—!"

"Ike, that's enough!" Marth managed to remain more level-headed than his fellow swordsman. Placing his good hand on Ike's shoulder, the graceful noble tried to pull his raging friend away from the threatening position he had taken. While his strength wasn't enough to hold back the mercenary, Marth's demeanor acted as a leash that held Ike's rage in check long enough for Nurse Joy to explain her position.

"Please sir, do try to understand. Lucario has been severely injured and we won't be able to release him until the day after tomorrow. And the injuries of some of your non-Pokémon companions were pretty bad, as well. The bird, Falco, had a number of puncture wounds and lacerations, and your back is burned horribly. You need to rest. I can understand your sense of urgency, but if you keep going at your current rate, you'll kill yourself before you can save your friends. I'm only asking that you wait until the morning of the day after tomorrow. Take the time to rest and prepare for your journey ahead."

Ike felt his rage flicker under the kind woman's compassion, but his breathing and body position remained threatening. The other Smashers watched the mercenary, tensed to jump in and calm him if need be.

Slowly, Ike dropped the fist that had crushed the wall back down to his side. The longer he thought, the more sense Nurse Joy made. His back hadn't completely healed from the burns it had sustained. Marth's arm was in a cast; the nurse had said it had a partial fracture as well as burns. Falco had needed several stitches on various parts of his body from the Gyarados' bites. And their clothes were in shambles, utterly ruined from the hard travelling they had endured. Well, at least coverings of those that actually wore clothes. "Fine…" Ike turned away and slunk to a chair.

The distraught mercenary turned his gaze to the open door of the burn unit. Inside, various Pokémon could be seen resting. Some, such as Squirtle, had been looking intently at the standoff, while others, like Lucario, lay in various positions that kept the weight of their bodies off the burns they had sustained.

Falco rested a winged hand on Ike's shoulder, careful to avoid the vicious burn. "I know this sucks, Ike. I mean, I'd love to keep going and save everyone as soon as possible. But even I feel we need to rest here. The only one that hasn't been hurt a lot is Sonic; you head what Nurse Joy said about Meta Knight's mask.

It was true. Though the mask had taken the brunt of the Punch from Zero on Angel Island, it had also bit into his skin and caused a deep, round gash that had only started bleeding when the mask had been removed. Plus, when the mask had been taken off, it had split into pieces. Meta Knight was now in a back room with a fire Pokémon someone had lent him to weld the metal covering into a somewhat-recognizable shape.

Ike sighed miserably. If Falco was against moving on, then there was no way to convince everyone else. The Lylatian's confidence was almost always boundless, and if the avian was reserved about continuing, then the others would pick up on it and doubt the wisdom of carrying on with their mission. Ike, the great commander of the Greil Mercenaries, had finally met a battle he had no chance of winning.

Strawberry's claws clicked on the linoleum as she approached Ike. "I know this is hard, but I realized something a little while back that I haven't had a chance to tell you. Crazy Hand misjudged the amount of days we had left to save everyone. I know you think we have a little over four days left, but we really have more than five."

Ike blinked in surprise. Come to think of it, Lucario had said something like that back on the _Halberd_ in Dreamland. Though the idea of having an extra day was nice, Ike was still uneasy about sitting back and doing nothing. But there was also no way that anyone, Ike included, would continue without Lucario and Squirtle. "…Fine. But we should at least try to do _something_ while we're here. Perhaps we can buy supplies or gather information. Where do you sense the next portal?"

Strawberry's eyes closed for a moment as she concentrated. Turning, she pointed her snout in a generally northern direction. "This way, several dozen miles out. Nurse Joy, are there any landmarks out on the ocean?"

Nurse Joy's put a finger to her chin as she thought. "Well, in the general direction you're facing, there are several islands. But the most prominent one is Iron Island, a former mining site. It's now a famous training ground for rising stars. We get a lot of Trainers here that have just come from Iron Island, often boasting of exploits or complaining about bad luck."

"Then we'll go there in two days. For now, I think we should gather information about Iron Island, the Pokémon that live there, and ways to get to the island." Strawberry's voice had a certain commanding tone, trying to motivate the members of the group that could still function.

"If I may make a suggestion." All eyes turned to Nurse Joy. "You should work to raise some money to buy medicines from the local Pokemart. Potions and revives will make your trip through Iron Island easier."

Ike turned away, pondering Joy's advice. In a moment, the mercenary commander had an idea. "I think I know how to get that money."

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"Attention ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Pokémon enthusiasts of all ages! I hereby summon you to attend the greatest show on…" Ike turned to Marth and lowered his voice. "What planet are we on, exactly?" Marth just shrugged, leaving Ike to pick up after his awkward silence. "The greatest show around! Come see the amazing, foreign, civilized Pokémon! They talk! They walk! They fight!" Falco and Sonic's indignant snorts cut off Ike's grand speech.

Marth, Ike, Strawberry, Falco, and Sonic were all outside, near the massive drawbridge that acted as the main pathway between the two halves of Canalave City. The port town was bisected by water, with many residences and community centers on the east side and businesses and a few more residences along the west half. The diminished group was on the east side of the bridge so as to stay close to their friends in the Pokémon Center. Meta Knight had refused to come with them, stating that he wanted to make his mask fit properly. It was a lame excuse, but nobody had argued with the sullen warrior.

Now the five were trying to raise money by doing street performances. Ike's plan was simple: Falco, Sonic, and Strawberry would wow the audience by talking for a little bit before showing off their extraordinary skills by toying with the crowd. Finally, the three would enter an exhibition match to hopefully maximize donations. Marth would act as crowd control, seeing as he was the best at socializing and calming hostile intentions. Ike doubted they would need that though: both Marth and Ike had their swords in plain sight. It hadn't been easy to convince the local police force to let them keep their weapons, but Nurse Joy had been kind enough to vouch for them.

A small crowd had begun to form around the quintet in the morning sun. The promise of exotic, talking Pokémon was backed up by three strange creatures that could only be of the Pocket Monster persuasion. It was worth taking a look for a few minutes to break the morning routine. Ike continued his introduction before Falco and Sonic, who had only agreed because their friends needed the funds, could back out.

"Before we begin, I would like to take the time to ask the kind folks to donate to our cause. You see, we're on a journey to faraway lands and need money to continue beyond this point." It was technically true; they didn't know how much a private passage to Iron Island would cost. A sailor who asked fewer questions would probably cost extra. Furthermore, the medicines at the Pokemart were expensive. Marth and Ike had been able to pawn off a few small trinkets, and an inspection of the city had earned them a strange disk from one of the locals. Altogether, they had managed to get just above five thousand Poke-dollars together, which only allowed them to purchase the following: two crystal-like Revives, to restore fainted friends; two Super Potions for restoring a moderate amount of health; and a Full Heal to cure any status ailment. They had used the Full Heal on Ike's back, allowing the warrior to fight normally again. This left them without much money from the world of the Pokémon as well as down one item.

"Now, without further ado, we shall start our show. The tall bird in the middle is Falco, an extraordinary fighter from the far-off, little-known region Lylat. On his right is Sonic, a speed demon from the mysterious land of Mobius, and on the far left is Straw, hailing from the land of Smash, which is a small community for only the best. These three Pokémon have learned the intricacies of human speech and will share their talents with us today!" Applause followed Ike's short speech. Though it was more polite than anything, there were some enthusiastic clappers who gave Ike hope that this venture wouldn't be a complete waste.

On cue, Strawberry turned to Falco. "So, Falco, have you heard the one about Pikachu and Lucario?"

Falco put on his best cheesy grin, knowing that a little chagrin now could help them later on. "No, Straw, I haven't. Please enlighten me." The display of competent speech had awed the crowd into silence, even attracting more onlookers. It seemed that much of the residential side of Canalave was now attending the show.

Sonic chimed in. "I have! Didn't it go something like, 'what's the difference between a Lucario and a Pikachu?'"

Straw nodded, over-emphasizing in an attempt to make up for the terrible jokes that the group had come up with not twenty minutes ago. "Indeed it did. Falco, can you guess the answer?"

The anthropomorphic avian pretended to think, putting a feathery finger to his chin. Eventually, he gave up. "I dunno, Straw. What is the difference?" Falco's eyes flicked to the left as he heard the sound of a coin dropping. Strawberry's ear flicked accordingly. At least somebody understood the concept of a street performance. Marth picked up the donation, a small coin that denoted one Poke-dollar.

Sonic finished the joke with a comedic, if lame, thumbs-up. "One fights with Aura, while the other nibbles flora!" A few chuckles escaped the crowd at the horrible on-the-spot punch line. A few more Poke-dollars hit the street, which Marth and Ike quickly pocketed.

Falco gave a phony, half-convincing chuckle. "Say, that's not bad. But have you heard about the Charizard…?"

The performers followed this pattern for about half an hour, earning the troupe a small amount of money. Eventually though, the puns gave way to the next part of the show—showing off.

To start, Strawberry led with her extending ability. Rocketing her head to the southeast, she picked several branches off of a bush by the side of a nearby house. One by one, she distributed the leaves to startled onlookers, at times winking or cracking an improvised one-liner, such as "Flowers for the kind human," or, "Sorry, I have to leaf pretty quickly." Her efforts often stunned the random recipients, who sometimes replaced the leaf with a coin or bill. At the end of her act, the blue fox spit out her spoils, which were swiftly collected by Marth.

Following Strawberry was Sonic, who used his speed to confound the audience. For his part, the hedgehog put every effort into his act, rolling and dashing through the crowd at breakneck speeds, even grinding along the rail between the water and the cobblestone road like a skateboarder, using his speed to induce a fair amount of momentum. After that, he ran between the individuals of the growing crowd, switching wallets, watches, and whatever else was in reach. Few people noticed until Ike announced that there had been some changes. After that, there was a small amount of mass confusion as everyone tried to determine whose items were whose. Once the exchanges had been completed, a small shower of coins and bills rained down, causing Marth and Ike to scramble for them. Other, less easygoing patrons left the crowd, taking whatever they had with them in the hopes of not having anything stolen from them again.

Finally, Falco showed off his acrobatic side, pulling flips in the air, rolls on the ground, and even dancing on a nearby roof. He pulled out his blasters and fired them every which way, careful not to hit anything with his seemingly wild shots. All the time, the Lylat native grinned, at home with showing off in front of a crowd.

Finally, the group pulled in close for a quick demonstration match. Falco put away his blasters, as they would be relying on their physical skills. Strawberry avoided using her teeth and claws, while Sonic refrained from using his rolling attacks. All the while, money continued to hit the street below them as people showed their appreciation.

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Ike let out a satisfied belch, startling the Marth and Strawberry. Sonic and Falco, however, took it as a challenge and began competing with the mercenary to see who could belch loudest and longest. The contest began to draw stares from the patrons of the crowded Pokémon Center, who were wondering why the trainers would allow their Pokémon to take part in such a vulgar competition. Marth, the ever social-conscious royal, began to try and shush the combatants.

"You guys, that's really obnoxious. You're drawing stares, you know. Please do stop."

Falco, forgetting his public role as a Pokémon, leaned back in his chair and scoffed. "So? They're just jealous. Besides, we busted our asses today and I think we deserve some downtime after that hu—." Falco was cut off by a petite blue paw to the beak. Strawberry had leaped onto the table and knocked the avian's beak closed, accidently causing Falco to bite his tongue. "Owtth…"

"Yes, Falco, we all know it was a huge success, but try to keep yourself humble for once." Strawberry hadn't lied; the team had earned about thirty-five hundred Poke-dollars, allowing them to buy three Full Heals and two Super potions. The remaining one hundred went towards carry-out for the entire team.

As the public slowly turned back to their business, Nurse Joy came out from the back room. Approaching the Smashers, the head of the Center smiled brightly. "I have good news. Lucario has woken up and can be released tomorrow. He would like to see you."

Where most of the Smashers had shared merriment at their friend's awakening, Marth, though also joyful, remained quiet. Nurse Joy had called Lucario a male. Through all of the events of the Smash events, whether it was Tabuu's invasion of their world, the daily battles, or even just relaxing in the Smashville Park, Lucario had always remained ambiguous about whether it—he—was a guy or a girl. Marth couldn't fathom why he would do so; surely a Pokémon had no secrets to hide about its gender?

The group filed into the burn unit, finding Meta Knight already there talking to the Aura user. As the group clattered in, the masked warrior and the jackal-like creature turned around. While Lucario did indeed look much better, its chest no longer covered in burns, Meta Knight's visage was surprising. Meta Knight had clearly been successful in repairing his mask, though the results were hardly pleasing to see. While the mask would still serve the functions of hiding the Star Warrior's face and protecting his body, the metal's fractures had been repaired using spare metal found around the building to fuse the pieces together. The result was a mask, certainly, but it was far less graceful and aesthetic than its original form. One large bump made its way across the face, starting at the left eye and curving to reach the right ear in a jagged scar. Another crack split the mask down the center, reaching another fissure that spread from just below the right side of the top split down to Meta Knight's chin. The puffball didn't look like a knight so much as a heavily-damaged cyborg.

Lucario spoke first, noting the stunned expressions of the newcomers. "It's good to see you all, my friends. Meta Knight has been kind enough to relate what's been happening since my…" Lucario trailed off, apparently ashamed or embarrassed with talking about his fainting.

Strawberry stepped forward, notably keeping from looking at Meta Knight's mask. "Yes, it's been quite a trip. How are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you. I…I'm sorry that—."

"It's alright." Strawberry gave her best fox-smile. "You fought valiantly, and every warrior must rest at some point. You're fine, so don't fret about it." Strawberry was rewarded with a smile of gratitude, but she waved it off. Lucario had been there for her earlier, now it was her turn to reassure him.

Falco stepped forward and clapped Lucario on the shoulder. "Yeah, man! You did great at that fight! Just take it easy until tomorrow. Then we can get back to kickin' ass! Strawberry found the next portal. It's some place called Iron Island." Lucario's eyes flickered with surprise, but nobody caught it. "We'll be headin' there tomorrow once they let you go."

"That's good, then. It's been some time since I've been to Iron Island." All eyes turned to Lucario. "What? I travelled a lot before joining the Smashers. I think I still remember the layout, so I can get you there. But you're going to want Squirtle and I to do most of the fighting: there are a lot of Ground, Rock, and Steel types on that island, which are well-defended against normal and electric attacks," Lucario eyed Falco, "as well as most physical moves." Squirtle's Water Gun and Waterfall, as well as my Aura Sphere and Force Palm, will be detrimental to our survival." Though the fighters felt that they were being shunned aside slightly, it made sense. The veterans remembered Mewtwo lecturing them on type advantages in the hopes of making them more aware of Pokémon culture, while everyone recalled Pikachu and Jigglypuff's tales of fierce battles against wild Pokémon.

_Besides_, Marth thought, _it'll allow Lucario to gain back his confidence._

PDPPPDPPPDPPPDPPPDPP

It was good to be free again.

Of course, Squirtle couldn't express that to anyone other than his fellow Pokémon. Lucario was currently performing, balancing Falchion and Ragnell in the air using Aura Spheres while the crowd watched, applauding at a two-in-one hit, gasping as a blade almost fell on the Aura user's head, and exploding into a frenzy as he jumped and used a double Force Palm to send the weapons higher into the air than ever before.

The legendary weapons' owners caught their respective blades by the hilt, Falchion pointing up and Ragnell turned to the side. The crowd went wild, hardly making way as a tall man made his way towards the Smashers. Only his voice drew the attention of Marth and Ike as they absorbed the glory and praise for Lucario's training.

In a sense, they had been his trainers. _They had fought with and against him, sharpening his reflexes and skills to the finest degree. They had done the same for Red's team, after all_. But the man now had the humans' full attention, prompting Squirtle to turn its thoughts back to the matter at hand.

The man was a dignified, if slightly eccentric presence. He wore heavy brown boots over small feet that were planted firmly on the ground. His lower body was covered by ankle-length, middle-gray cargo pants with a yellow band around each leg above the knee. Is shirt was once a white tank-top, though it was now soiled with sweat stains and patches of dirt. It was skin-tight, showing off the man's muscles. Around the guy's shoulders was a brown cloak, even dirtier than the shirt. His head was unshaven, with purple hair spreading from his chin up to a mop of spiky purple locks. He bore no moustache. Despite the man's grungy appearance, it was clear that the person was all business, speaking to Marth and Ike with intent.

The crowd had gone strangely silent. Squirtle could feel excitement in the air, as palpable as the shell on its back.

The man addressed the crowd. "Gwahahaha! My fellow Canalave residents! These fine men have agreed to let their Lucario fight a one-on-one exhibition match against me!" The crowd went from "silent" to "uproar" in two seconds flat.

PDPPPDPPPDPPPDPPPDPP

Marth stood aside, playing civilian guard as well as match judge. While Falco, Sonic, and Meta Knight had felt that this was wasted time—time that should be used to go to Iron Island—they had agreed that the spoils of victory would be well worth a small detour.

This man, calling himself Byron, had heard their "predicament" from the crowd last night. After conferring with Nurse Joy, he had become privy to the real situation. While the Smashers were annoyed that Joy had let out their mission, the promises of extra money for supplies, free transportation, and some sort of status marker were too much to pass up.

Now Ike stood facing Byron on the opposite side of the crowd, which had expanded its circle in order to make room for the fight. Lucario stood a few steps from the center of the ring on Ike's side, meditating in preparation. This was a fight he couldn't afford to lose.

Marth raised a hand to get everyone's attention. Once the murmurs had died down, he began his announcement. "On my left we have Ike, a travelling foreigner with strange Pokémon at his command. In this one-one-one fight, he will be using Lucario, a popular friend and companion to his many compatriots.

"On my right is the Canalave City Gym Leader, Byron. He has challenged Ike to this duel as a charity round, and will be using one of his favorite Pokémon!"

Byron laughed as he pulled out a Pokeball. "Yes, yes, all well and good. But let's begin this already! Go, Bastiodon!"

Byron hurled his ball high into the air. The red-and-white sphere opened at a hinge, releasing the Pokémon inside as a white light. The light settled into a form on the ground before dissipating, leaving a startling figure behind. The creature, Bastiodon, stood a little over four feet in height. Its head was shaped like a castle tower and was completely black save for four yellow-and-black areas resembling windows, as well as bones not unlike Lucario's spikes. It's body had a large amount of tan, though it seemed to be mostly black as its ridged back and legs were covered in by dark, rock-like armor. The feet each had three claws made of similar material to the bones on its face. The black tail started thick and tapered down to a point. Ridges resembling herbivore teeth lined the creature's back down to its tail. "Bastio!"

The crowd applauded in appreciation, some even whistling or chanting for their heroic Gym Leader's victory. Ike felt out of place, being considered the underdog in this match.

Lucario, however seemed unfazed. Indeed, he actually appeared rather confident, going so far as to smirk at his opponent. The Aura user turned its head and muttered, "Don't worry. This is a combo Rock/Steel type. My Aura Sphere and Force Palm, as Fighting moves, will bring it down easily." This reassured Ike, as he had learned from the other Pokémon in the Mansion that Fighting types like Lucario often had advantages against Rock and Steel types. Furthermore, combined types inherited the strengths and weaknesses of their parts, often resulting in negated disadvantages or even doubled limitations. Ike relaxed. _Lucario'll be fine on his own_.

Marth stepped forward, hand raised as if he was ready to chop a block of wood. "This is a one-on-one match between Lucario and Bastiodon. The winner will be decided by knockout or if one trainer surrenders. Are all parties ready?" Lucario nodded his head as the mercenary and the Gym leader gave their approval. Bastiodon growled and steeled itself for the fight ahead. The crowd ceased all whispers, eager for the fight that was sure to be epic. Marth chopped his hand down. "Begin!"

Lucario didn't waste a moment. He charged forth, paw raised and glowing. Byron noticed this and gave his first command. "Iron Defense!"

Bastiodon stood its ground and roared. An ethereal blue light surrounded its head just as Lucario made contact. The Fighting/Steel Pokémon's attack scored a direct blow right on the nose, pushing Bastiodon back several feet. Though the attack had weakened the type-disadvantaged fighter, Bastiodon still stood. "Basti!" The crowd cheered its approval as the Pokémon's voice rang through the streets.

Lucario didn't stop, though. Leaping back, the Smasher prepped an Aura Sphere. Lucario alone of the Smashers knew that it was now useless to attack head-on with a physical move—Iron Defense had raised Bastiodon's physical resistance to an incredibly high level.

But Byron wouldn't have any of it, either. "Bastiodon, use Flash Cannon!" Bastiodon responded accordingly, charging up power in its mouth. As Lucario launched his power orb, the Rock-and-Steel Pokémon released a mighty beam of energy that collided head on with the Aura Sphere. The two projectiles battled in midair for a moment before cancelling each other out explosively. The heat and dust from the blast washed over the crowd.

The dust cleared to an appalling sight. Though both Pokémon had taken slight damage from the explosion, Lucario, not being tied to a trainer, was quicker to react. The Aura Pokémon now had Bastiodon lifted into the air above his head as his victim struggled valiantly against Lucario's grip. Between Lucario's paws and Bastiodon's stomach was a blue glow, indicating that Lucario was once again using Force Palm to weaken its foe, this time by circulating the Aura through his victim's body.

Byron wasn't fazed, though. "Iron Defense!" The prone Bastiodon glowed once again as Lucario slammed the poor fighter into the ground, causing a small crater. Ike winced, fearing that they'd have to pay for that.

Byron's order turned out to have saved Bastiodon. Though it was heavily damaged from Lucario's clever fighting, the Rock/Steel warrior stood, legs shaking. Knowing that the end could be near, Byron ordered the use the secret move he held in reserve for just this occasion. "Rest, Bastiodon!"

Ike, Marth, Strawberry, Falco, Squirtle, Meta Knight, and Sonic all gawked at the effect of the command. Rather than pull a devious stunt, Bastiodon collapsed and fell asleep, a small trickle of drool running from its mouth. Lucario began charging an Aura Sphere once more. Certainly Byron, a Gym Leader, wouldn't hand over victory so easily.

And Lucario was correct. Mere seconds after it fell asleep, Bastiodon stood up, completely refreshed. It made a chewing motion with its mouth before swallowing hard. The Smashers' eyes, save Lucario's turned to Byron, who grinned maniacally. "Some trainers you are not to recognize the effects of a Chesto Berry. Now Bastiodon, AncientPower!"

Bastiodon formed a swirling ball of light in front of it, not particularly dissimilar to Flash Cannon Lucario cancelled its Aura Sphere, holding it in reserve for just the right moment. Ike raised an eyebrow in surprise before realizing what Lucario had planned. If this worked, the fight would very well turn in their favor.

Bastiodon launched its energy at Lucario, who had taken up a dodging stance. But as the sphere approached the Aura user, he began to step into a stance. Ike grinned widely. This was it: the finale would begin.

The energy bomb made contact, exploding on impact. But it was clear to anyone facing Lucario's back that the Smasher wasn't there. Before the dust even began to settle, Lucario came from nowhere and slammed into Bastiodon from the front, seeming to slide through the fellow Steel hybrid and eventually halting at its back. Though Bastiodon's high defense saved it from most damage, the Pokémon's horrible speed, as well as Byron's surprise at how Double Team had been used, crippled any advantage it had. Lucario pulled out the previously charged Aura Sphere at this time and, at point-blank range, thrust it into his foe.

Bastiodon had no chance to dodge. The powerful move, fueled slightly by Lucario's minor damage, hit it from the rear. The heavy Pokémon was flung forward as though it had been loaded into a slingshot. It tumbled end over end, nearly plowing down several observers as it travelled along the road. It finally slid to a stop on its back about twenty yards from where it had started. Its eyes were simply swirls, indicating its inability to fight.

Through the appalled crowd came Marth's ruling, which none in their right mind would deny. "Bastiodon is unable to fight. The winner is Lucario!"

PDPPPDPPPDPPPDPPPDPP

"C'mon, Lucario, it'll make you feel better."

"I'm fine, thanks. We may need it later, so save it."

"But your wounds—."

"—Are quite minor. That medicine is far more potent than necessary for my little injuries."

"But Lucario—!"

"Give it a rest, Marth. Just because you like keeping your friends at home healthy doesn't mean that Lucario's gonna accept your help."

"Falco—."

Falco drew Marth over to the other side of the boat, away from everyone else. After Byron had conceded the match to the Smashers, he had given them nearly five thousand Poke-dollars and a strange symbol consisting of a three-way silver cross, each prong at one-hundred twenty degrees from each other. In between the cross' arms were amber pieces to fill in the space left over. The entire thing was surrounded by silver, penning in the amber portions. Byron had called it the "Mine Badge," a symbol of a trainer's power to defeat an opponent.

Byron had also given them a tip on a sailor who ferried trainers to Iron Island for free. Once the warriors had bought supplies and food, they had searched out this seaman, finding him on the "business" side of Canalave.

Now they were on the way to Iron Island. The going was slow, and Marth had decided to take this time to try and heal Lucario of his minor injuries. However, the Aura Pokémon hadn't taken kindly to being fussed over. Falco tried to explain such to the Altean as a small speck on the horizon grew larger.

"Look, Marth, Lucario still feels kinda bad about the whole fainting thing. While he's not particularly one for pride, his confidence is shaken big time. Offering to fix such a small thing is to say you doubt his abilities. He needs to know that we still have faith in him, alright?"

Marth looked at the avian strangely. Since when was Falco so understanding? "What? Why're ya lookin' at me like that?" Okay maybe he wasn't as understanding as Marth thought.

The two broke out of their individual thoughts as the sailor called out over the noise of the waves and the boat's engine. "We're coming up on our destination! You can see Iron Island ahead now!"

Indeed, the isle had grown larger, a behemoth turtle rising from the water in its aquarium. The Most of the Smashers were surprised: they had expected something more along the lines of the small rock on the Pirate Ship stage. This island was actually a mountain jutting out of the water. As they neared their destination, a small port became visible.

Lucario stepped to the prow of the boat, gazing upon the shore and mountain with an unreadable expression. "Iron Island," he muttered. "It's been a long time since I've been here."

PDPPPDPPPDPPDPPPDPP

**"I'm back! I have returned with the glorious adventures of the blue-covered combatants aiming to save their compatriots!**

**"My sincerest apologies for how long this took. I've been very busy with reality and other works, mostly contest writing. I've not only neglected this story, but the two other multi-chapter stories I have going, as well. Please accept my sincerest apologies. I've been lazy, but hopefully this'll break me out of my habit and get me to write more for my other stories, too.**

**"Okay, where to begin? Uhhh…well, first we see how bad the Smashers inside of the fiery prison are doing: poorly. But I think I've found a way to keep them alive without being completely cheap, so they won't be completely dead later.**

**"Next, I followed a lot from the anime in this. Street performances, battles in the city, and actual food are all common in the cartoon, so I put a lot in from there. I even looked up images for the anime versions of different attack so I could describe them better. But what do you think, did I do well in blending the three different universes—Pokémon show, Pokémon game, and Smash Bros.? Please, tell me what you think!**

**"I guess the last thing would be Lucario's pride. First, yes, I made him male, if only because of his 'voice' in Brawl. But also, it's a seven-eighths chance of having a male Lucario over a female, so it's just more likely, you know? Anyway, if you were unconscious while your friends fought to stay alive, how would you feel? Lucario seems to be rather confident in—but not cocky about—his power, so being forced to sit out important things while your friends are suffering would hurt your confidence and self-esteem, especially if you're as compassionate as Lucario is often portrayed. So yeah, he's a bit down, though the fight against Bastiodon helped a lot. I suppose I shall explain that in the next chapter.**

**"Please do bear with me, as I'm looking for a job right now and am somewhat busy, as well as quite lazy. Hopefully, though, I'll update one of my main stories soon. Until then, ciao chow!"**


	11. Cave Crackdown Combat

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**"Well, it's been a while, but we're back—!" R.O.B. is punted off the stage by a foot from behind the curtain. Out steps Foxpilot.**

**"Stupid robot knows I don't like it. I specifically told it to set up the lights, but no-o-o, it has to try and open the show!" The crowd is silent…then Foxpilot realizes the crowd hasn't been let in yet. "Damn it. Hey, someone let the people in already! It's too hot out for them to be waiting around!" Fox and Falco open the doors, allowing the audience to flood in from the blazing outside sun. The room quickly fills with the smell of sweat.**

**"Thank you. Now, as it were, right? Anyway, this is the eleventh chapter of 'Blue Sun;' not a landmark, but it's still sweet." R.O.B rolls onto the stage, looking angry for a robot. F-p leans down to it.**

**"Hey, can you get some odor spray or something? These people stink from being outside." Foxpilot is subsequently zapped, much to the pleasure of the audience. "Ow! Damn it!" The host swiftly decapitates R.O.B. in response. "Glad you liked that, people."**

**"Anyway, this is the eleventh chapter, blah blah blah. I would like to thank new reviewers Reader123456789, HomestarOtaku, and NinjaSheik for their kind reviews. Also, with their help, 'TWBS' had reached a 4-to-1 review/chapter ratio! Then I posted this thing. Now, I have agreed to let R.O.B. do the disclaimer this…Oh. Crap. Anyway, uh, Toon Link! Could you do the disclaimer thing?"**

**"'Uh-huh!" Toon Link scrambles onto the stage. "Foxpilot doesn't own Super Smash Bros., alright? If he did, then…oh, that's been said…Then he would have…oh, that's been done, too…darn it!"**

**"It's alright, Toon, you did great. Thanks." Foxpilot drops his voice to a whisper. "By the way, could you for the sake of everyone, go put some air fresheners in the AC units?" Toon Link nods. "Thanks." TL runs off.**

**"Well, I've kept you waiting long enough, so without further ado…" Foxpilot kicks R.O.B's body offstage. "Let it…Begin!"**

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

It was odd. It was unusual. It was helpful.

It was cold.

The mysterious light in the center had started giving off a sort of wind, cooling to the touch and with a benevolent aura, like somebody was trying to protect them.

It made Bowser mad.

Never in his life had Bowser asked to be protected by anything so weak—so stupid!—as air. What's more, he never asked for help. Sure, he was becoming turtle soup just a little while ago, but Bowser, King of the Koopas, never backed down if he could help it! Not from plumbers, not from beans, and certainly not from something as simple as heat.

Still, the breeze felt nice. While it kept the heat of the flames at bay, the wind only seemed to reach into the very front of the bubbles of the Smashers. Furthermore, the rushing air, though silent, was like flying ice. Perhaps they weren't used to the cold that this wind was giving off, but the air was hard to take for too long. As such, the Smashers had taken to rotating as they needed to: backs to the flames for a little, followed by their fronts. Only R.O.B., who had malfunctioned and shut down long ago, was unaffected by this blessing.

Of course, the blessing came with its own little downside. The chill wind seemed to emanate from the light in the center, which had become retina-burning bright. If a fighter was to keep their front cool for any period of time, they would have to close their eyes and cover them with something. This proved difficult for some Smashers, such as Yoshi, who couldn't reach their faces with their hands. The dinosaur in question had managed to use an eggshell to this effect, but others like Pikachu or Jigglypuff were incapable of putting their arms near their eyes. As such, they suffered either freezing cold backs or blindness. They had wisely chosen the former.

The central light was growing even now, oblivious to the pain it caused the prisoners. As Bowser leaned back against his bubble, tail to the luminescence, he decided to complain about it. "Grr, what's with this stupid light?"

"Pika pikachu!" From across the way and to the right, Pikachu agreed. The lightning mouse was rubbing its back, trying to keep some feeling in its tail. The Pokémon had been sitting like that for…well, nobody knew how long it had been sitting like that. Other than the occasional uncomfortable shift, Pikachu had remained in the basic position since the wind had started.

About ninety degrees to Bowser's left, Ness spoke up. "C'mon guys, it could be worse, right?"

Bowser snorted, releasing a little smoke. "That's easy for you to say. You've got your hat over your head! Plus, you release bright light anyway! You're used to it!"

"Shouldn't you be used to it, too?"

"Of course not! I'm not the one who trains with big fancy fireworks every day!"

"But what about your fire—?"

"I don't actually look at my fire, you idiot! Besides, your PK Flash attack is brighter!"

"Bowser, calm down." The giant turtle turned in the direction of Zelda, who was to his left. "We're all fed up with being trapped here, and the light is becoming bothersome. But there's no need to lose our tempers like that. Ness just happens to be more resistant to light than most of us because of his attack. Now apologize."

Ness stuck his tongue at Bowser, who merely snorted and turned around. There was no way he was going to apologize to some brat just because a princess—who, Bowser being a king, was beneath him—told him to.

Eventually, Zelda looked away, staring at her "good friend," Link. Ness pulled out his yo-yo and began to make string designs. Bowser just sat grumpily against the energy of his sphere.

Great. Not only was he mad now, but he was starting to get hungry…

PDPPPDPPPPDPPPPDPPPDPP

The sea air had always made him hungry. It was one reason why he'd gotten off Zoness when the chance had presented itself.

Now, Falco's stomach rumbled as they departed from the boat. The sailor who had been so kind as to transport them, a good man by the name of Eldritch, sat at the helm of his boat and waited patiently for the warriors to disembark. They all ended up waiting for a bit as Strawberry finished up. It turned out the fix wasn't meant for the sea and had taken the opportunity to dash for the bathroom. At least, Falco reflected, she was civilized enough to use a toilet rather than heave over the edge.

The Smashers didn't have any luggage to carry around due to dimensional pockets Master Hand had called "Hammer Space." These pockets were good places to store items in Brawls, such as Sonic's springs. They were also great for hiding embarrassing photographs or supplies. Now, Falco reached into his Space, making sure that Eldritch wasn't looking, and pulled out a small bag of chips. He had no idea how chips in the Pokémon world tasted, but he'd be darned if he wasn't about to learn.

Strawberry came down the gangplank as Falco popped the bag open. The vulpine gave her avian friend a look that said, "How can you eat?" Lombardi only shrugged and put the first crisp in his mouth. It was okay. The crunch was satisfying, but Falco knew a producer on Katina that made better chips than this.

Ike strolled over and swiped a crisp. Ignoring Falco's dirty look, the mercenary laced the flat food item in his mouth and bit down. "Not bad," Ike mumbled through the chip, "I could probably market these at home and bring about another revolution." Nearby, Meta Knight placed a hand over his eyes and groaned softly.

"Are you sure you want me to go now," Eldritch called. The sailor had been instructed to leave once he'd dropped off the Smashers. It's not like they'd be going back to shore anytime soon, right?

Marth waved back. "It's alright, we've got this handled. If we need you, we can ask the person in that house up there to use their communication device."

The sailor was silent for a few moments before responding. "Alright then, if you insist. But if you all need me to come, you'd better give me a little while." With that, the seafarer threw his boat into reverse and headed out into the ocean as the Smashers waved and hollered their thanks and best wishes.

"Sho," Falco mumbled through his chips, "wheresh shuh portal fing?" Strawberry looked disgusted and just walked purposefully towards the stairs carved into the mountain.

PDPPPDPPPDPPPDPPPDPP

The cave was dark despite the many lanterns that hung from the ceiling. Rocks and barrels littered the floor as reminders of the island's bygone glory days as a mine. The eight of them cramped up the hallway and moved at best two-by-two through the tunnels.

Iron Island was not what Strawberry had expected. Sure, she'd heard that the mine was abandoned save for brave trainers and several clans of Pokémon, but somehow the idea of living beings setting up camp in the neglected quarry had made the place seem more cheerful.

The only one who appeared to not be let down was Lucario. In fact, the Pokémon hadn't said a single word since they'd arrived at the island. He seemed lost in thought, contemplating some sort of mystery or reflecting on something. It didn't take a genius to tell something was wrong.

Sonic was growing more concerned by the moment. Lucario had taken up the front position when they'd started up the steps leading into the mine, but he'd not responded to anyone's questions. The Smashers had soon stopped talking to him, leaving the Aura user to ponder on his own. But now, Lucario had fallen to the back of the group, eyes aglow. Wait…

"Hold on, guys." The group stopped at Sonic's speaking. The blue hedgehog was looking back at Lucario, who had closed his eyes and stopped walking a few paces behind the others. The quill-covered creature approached the Pokémon cautiously. As Sonic was about to speak, however, Lucario's eyes snapped open and he dashed off in the opposite direction. The Smashers were startled, especially when the realized that the Pokémon had said something:

"Toya!"

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Lucario could feel her Aura. It was tainted with fear and stress, a strange combination for her. Now, as he bounded down the human-made steps three at a time, his ears picked up a strange noise—a sort of grinding mixed with a little humming. He'd heard this before: the sound of machine on rock was common in Brawls when Jill Dozer was summoned forth as an Assist Trophy. But the reason they'd chosen this place was because it was abandoned!

Bypassing a confused Graveler and a scared flock of Zubat, Lucario turned the corner. The camper that had been there for the last several years had disappeared. In her place was a giant drilling machine that was boring away at the stone wall. Three humans stood beside it, tending to the machine so as to prevent damage to their precious mechanics. The demons! This mine had been derelict for years, and now they thought they'd be able to find ore again? The machine was intrusive, too. There was no way Lucario could stand to let the abomination stand. And damage the beautiful island!

Lucario charged an Aura Sphere, pumping every spare ounce of rage into the energy ball. The machine was large and on treads—perfect for digging through rock face and into the deep underground that might—or might not—possess valuable minerals. Since it would need to survive in the event of a cave collapse, the demonic device was plated with extra armor. But Lucario had been training non-stop since he'd joined the Smash Bros. One good shot would eliminate this machine.

But how many more were there?

Lucario's charge was interrupted by a hand grabbing his wrist. In response, Lucario thrust his other paw out, spike first. The protrusion met something unexpected with a loud _clang_! Metal…?

Lucario looked back and saw that his attack had been blocked by two swords. Falchion and Ragnell were crossed, with the Pokémon's spike meeting Ragnell where the blades met. The two weapons protected the face of Sonic the Hedgehog, who was still holding Lucario's wrist. The Blue Blur now spoke. "What's gotten into you, man?"

"Indeed, we would like to know that, as well." The group, now completely united, turned all eyes to the workers. They didn't seem particularly strong physically; their coats were loose-fitting and their muscles poorly developed. Their faces were also rather pale, displaying a lack of sun reception. Lucario growled in annoyance. Science workers.

Marth spoke up. "Oh, uh, hi. Yes, well it seems that our Lucario here…well, the mine seems to have gotten to his head, you see. Unfortunately, we lost his Pokeball some time ago in the mine while training and we can't recall him. Please, accept our apologies for interrupting your work." Leave it to Marth to cover their bases.

"Trainers?" A second worker put his hands inside of his pockets. "Didn't you know that all trainers are forbidden inside of the mine by order of the boss?"

"Uh, no—er, that's to say, we didn't see any signs and we're new to the area. Nobody told us either." Ike's recovery came quickly and with a clipped voice. The mercenary suspected that whatever operation was taking place here, it wasn't legal.

The third scientist stepped forth, pulling a Pokeball out of his coat. "Well, I hope you understand that we can't let you leave the area until we're done with our research. I suggest you back out of this cave and wait for clearance." The other two workers pulled Pokeballs out of their packets as well.

Falco wasn't intimidated. In fact, he was looking forward to a fight. The group members were all wearing the same uniform: skin-tight leggings, hard hats, silver shirts, and lab coats with a yellow letter G that looked like it had been shocked. A gang, for certain. A nerdy gang, but a band like this reeked of the old days on Zoness. "Bring it on, chumps! If we're as alone as you say, there's no reason to hold back!" When he finished his comment, Lombardi pulled out his Blaster and aimed it directly at one of the workers' Pokeballs. In response, the scientists stepped back and fingered the releases to the capturing orbs.

"He's right, you know." The workers jumped as a slightly-nasal voice sounded behind them. In the confusion, Sonic swiped their Pokeballs and jumped on top of the burrowing machine. Sonic continued his reasoning. "These guys are obviously trouble. All of you know it; your experiences tell you that these guys are no good, right?" The scientists backed away from the talking hedgehog—.

— Right into the points of Falchion, Galaxia, and Ragnell. "Indeed," rumbled Meta Knight. "These people do seem to be most dishonorable in their actions. I believe I heard Red talk about a group called 'Team Rocket' taking over his region. He also said that several other groups had grasps over other areas of this world." The warrior's calm voice carried enough menace to make the workers sweat visibly.

The second gang member broke first. "Alright, you've caught us! Look, our organization, Team Galactic, was just ripped apart by some kids and their grandpa at the Spear Pillar. We need the ore—more accurately, the Pokémon—on this island to rebuild it! But you guys…you guys broke the rules of Pokémon battles by attacking the humans—!" The mobster was cut off by Lucario covering his mouth with a paw.

"Who says we're Pokémon and trainers?" Lucario then channeled Aura through his palm, manipulating its flow to fill the human with a sense of peace. The calm feeling overwhelmed the worker, who promptly collapsed like he had been subjected to chloroform.

The other two gang members' jaws dropped. A mostly-peaceful Pokémon just attacked a human directly! These people weren't normal. There had been talk of corrupt Pokémon that looked normal in a far-off region, but certainly they hadn't come here? The third mob member stuttered, "Who the hell are you?"

"That is none of your concern," retorted Falco before pistol-whipping the gangster across his temple. The scientist collapsed, prompting a scream from the remaining researcher. The cries were cut short by the hilt of Falchion slamming into his head. The grunt crumbled, leaving three human bodies on the floor of the cave.

"These people are sick," said Ike. "They want to disrupt and kidnap innocent creatures and destroy their homes. I don't know about you guys, but I'm all for stopping them."

"Ike, we don't have time." Strawberry's voice was anointed with authority, but also carried concern. Even the mystical vulpine knew they couldn't let this atrocity continue. But their friends were more of an immediate concern. "When we get the others back, we can lead a raid—."

_BOOM!_ Straw was cut off by the digging machine, which had exploded into fragments of machinery. The metal burned with blue fire, prompting everyone to look at Lucario. The Pokémon was standing where the broadside of the machine had been, an angry look on his face. "We can't wait." Lucario then froze, clearly alerted to something. He slowly turned around and stared behind him, face hidden to the Smashers. He then dashed off in that direction, leaving the others behind.

Sonic was, naturally, the first to catch up. What he saw made him stop short.

Lucario was kneeling in the safety of a ledge by a little Pokémon, who looked oddly like him. Its ears were smaller, and it had two Aura feelers instead of four. Its torso was black rather than tan, and there were nubs where Lucario's spikes would be. Lucario was muttering to it in Pokémon language.

As Sonic watched, a gold blur leapt down from the nearby hill and landed on Lucario, shoving him face-first into the dirt. The creature had a ferocious, protective look on its face.

And it was clearly a mutated Lucario.

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Lucario picked a speck of dirt out of his fur. The moment had been awkward as the Smashers had pried the golden Lucario off of him. She had screamed, bit, and attacked, scaring the child even more than it had been initially. Eventually, Lucario had gotten up and stopped them.

That had been all of ten seconds ago.

Now everyone was staring at him, looking for an explanation. Why would Lucario tell his friends to not pull this strange creature off of him? She had been ready to throttle him! They didn't even take into account that she had calmed down and began to observe her captors. Lucario sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He figured that it was time to say something.

"She's my mate."

You could hear the collective jaw-drops of the others. Surely it wasn't that hard of a concept…?

"She's your wife?" Falco was as subtle as ever. "Why didn't you tell us about this?"

"Not wife; mate," Lucario mumbled. This was why he didn't tell anyone—they'd make a big deal out of it.

"Lucario…she's…is this what girl Lucario look like? You really have an interesting choice in wives. She attacked you! And does this mean that the kid Lucario is yours, too?" Sonic wouldn't shut up; his questions were like needles.

"Not wife; mate," was all Lucario could mutter. Why didn't they get that? For her part, the golden Lucario was being peaceful. It seemed she understood that these people weren't threatening. Toya had always been smart.

Marth clamped a hand over Sonic's mouth. "Lucario…this…this is amazing! You've got a wife and kids—."

"She's not my wife!" Lucario's outburst surprised all of the present beings. The child began to cry.

Lucario went over and picked up the crying youth in his arms. Cradling the baby Pokémon, Lucario continued, more calmly. "Friends, my apologies. But here in the wild, we don't have the formalities of your 'civilized' worlds. We are mates, lovers and child-raisers in the Pokémon world." Lucario tickled the child under its chin, which caused the baby to stop crying and gurgle slightly. "My mate is known as Toya, a rare specimen in that she's an off-color Pokémon. Normally, specimens of my species are unable to distinguish between male and female. In fact, most Lucario are male. I was lucky to have won the heart of such a rare and wonderful lady." What sounded like romantic talk to the others was really just Lucario sucking up. The child was young, conceived on his last visit to Iron Island several months ago during his break from Brawls. And he hadn't been around when he'd hatched from their eggs. Toya wasn't going to be very happy.

Ike, who had been holding the golden Pokémon, released Toya. The female Lucario stepped forward cautiously, taking furtive glances back at the other Smashers. She made her way until she was face-to-face with Lucario, and for a moment the two stared deep into each others' eyes. In the background, Sonic made a gagging noise, but was quickly hushed by Marth.

Toya slapped Lucario. The baby he was holding started to cry again as the two parents leapt into an argument in Lucario-speak. Squirtle flushed red as he heard the two Pokémon go at it.

"What do you think they're saying?" Sonic kept his voice down this time; even he could tell this wasn't something he should be involved in.

"I'd say it's about Lucario not being there for the birth of his child. The Smashers turned to Marth, who rebutted. "What? A leader has to know these things. You'd be amazed at how often I've dealt with this." The other Smashers looked at him curiously before turning back to the fighting Pokémon.

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"_Toya, I told you I wouldn't be available for the child—._"

"_And you let him be born anyway? Shal, you've got a lot of nerve coming back now, after all of this time. Coue has been out of his egg for months now. Months! You claim that you were able to come back for a few days, yet you say you don't have the ability to see us all the time? Do you know how hard it is to raise a child on your own? Food is hard to find when you're hunting with a hungry Riolu crying at your side!_"

"_Toya—._"

"_And then, now that our kid can finally fend for himself a bit, you show up with _humans_ and other weird Pokémon, saying that they're your friends! Shal, you should be ashamed!_"

"_I am—._"

"_Well, you'd better explain to these 'friends' that you're not going back with them! Coue needs a fatherly figure in his life! I don't even know how we survived this long. And now that those other humans are tearing apart the island and capturing Pokémon, we need you more than ever!_" Toya paused to regain her breath. Lucario used this time to try and explain himself.

"_Toya, you don't understand. I tried to convince the leader of…of the place I was at to return, to come back for my family. But he wouldn't let me return; he said that after the incident with Tabuu, he needed as many of us on hand as possible. And it's only through his power that I could even return at all. I tried to reason with him daily, but he wouldn't listen, saying you'd do just fine on your own. And for the humans, we'll help you fight! All of us. Every one of the creatures—including the humans—are expert warriors where they come from. We'll banish the bad humans immediately and then…and then you can come with us!_"

"_Shal, what are you talking about?_"

"_Toya, please, come with us. When we're done with the humans invading Iron Island, we can take you and Coue with us on our journey. You can stay at the Mansion, become stronger! Besides, then you can give the leader a piece of your mind, just like he deserves._"

"_Shal, do you really not understand? This is our home! We can't just go live with…with humans! If we do, we lose our wild instincts! Clearly you've been with people too long. You're tame now!_"

"_I assure you, I'm not domesticated. The humans don't try to catch wild Pokémon in this…other place. Toya, Coue can learn and grow strong with us._"

"_Shal, this is the home we chose for our children. We agreed that it's the perfect place to raise our Riolu, to train them to be wild and powerful. To give them a future! We can't just uproot our lives like this!_"

"_Toya—!_"

"_That's enough, Shal. We aren't coming with you. Abandon us if you feel the need, but Coue and I will stay here._"

Both Pokémon were silent for a long time. In the distance, the sound of rock being crushed reverberated through the caverns. Finally, Lucario spoke.

"_We can't stay. I'm sorry, Toya, but all of us have friends that are in danger. But we will help free the island from the bad humans. Team Galactic will not hold onto this island, our home. I swear to you on the Aura!_"

"_…Fine. If you're willing to stop the intruders, then I'll fight with you. But you should leave when you're done._"

"_Toya…_"

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"So that's the plan? Spark a rebellion?" Lucario was surprised. Falco didn't seem the type to back down from anarchy in the name of justice. "Count me in!" Ah, it figured.

The Smashers, with the golden Lucario introduced as "Toya" in attendance, were planning on how to remove Team Galactic from Iron Island. Seeing as the Smashers didn't have the time to eliminate each machine one by one, a quicker plan was in order. Thankfully, Toya had come up with the idea of gathering the remaining wild Pokémon on the island and sending them after the workers. Already, a Golbat had informed them that a human who seemed to be the leader of the group was at a machine digging near the other entrance to the mines.

Even now, flying Zubat and Golbat were making their way through the tunnels, spreading word of the rebellion the Smashers and Toya were planning. The Rock and Steel types on Iron Island were surprisingly easy to anger, and they'd all mobilize with surprising speed. The sound of digging machines was now drowned out by the marching of feat and the pounding of bodies against the floor of the caves.

"Toya and I will attack the boss of the gang. You must each find a machine and help the wild Pokémon fight against the grunts and destroy the tunneling machines. Squirtle, you're job is to protect Coue from enemies seeking revenge or hostages. Are we clear?" The Smashers nodded their affirmation. With the help of the wild Pokémon, they'd be able to fight off the Galactic crew far easier.

"Very well then. Let us start." The Smashers and Toya stood up and made for the stairs, leaving Squirtle to make sure the Riolu was safe. One by one, the fighters trooped up the stairs, where the sounds of battle were floating through the halls.

Nobody noticed the first of the Team Galactic scientists reaching for his belt…

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The warriors stepped out into a warzone. Everywhere they looked, even up, Pokémon were battling each other, vying for dominance. Lumpy Graveler faced off against many different types of Pokémon controlled by humans. Large, snakelike Onix and Steelix wrapped themselves around different enemies and threw their tails at moving targets. Zubat and Golbat screeched and dive-bombed foes, using their agility to their advantage.

But the members of Team Galactic were fighting back. Many different species of Pokémon clawed, blasted, and bit at their assailants, knocking aside anything that was foolish enough to take damage. A blast of fire exploded at Sonic's feet, sending him stumbling backwards.

In a silent agreement, everyone broke off in different directions. Small Zubat, perhaps children that had just learned to fly, took the lead of each fighter, directing the Smashers towards the digging machines. Lucario and Toya dashed down the familiar halls of their home, guided by the Aura in search of their target.

The two Aura users passed into the main room of the island, a maze of rocks, hills, and barrels. The previous rooms had been warzones, but this cavern was a hellhole. There were few places to step without running into a skirmish or through the path of an attack. Lucario thanked the Aura every time he and his mate dodged an enemy move.

Finally, the two Lucario found their way to the end of the room. To their surprise, Sonic was already there. The fastest creature in existence had zoomed ahead and was now taking on two Team Galactic members at once. The hedgehog had already confiscated their Pokeballs and was now dodging the wild strikes of the enraged duo. Catching sight of the two Pokémon, he called out, "You guys go on ahead! I've got these idiots!" Sonic then rolled away from a desperate kick before sweeping the other grunt off of his feet.

Toya didn't hesitate. She immediately dashed ahead towards the awaiting lift, just past where Sonic was holding out against the grunts. Lucario gave Sonic an appreciative nod before leaping onto the elevator after his mate.

The elevator descended at a quick pace, grinding and humming. Neither Pokémon spoke, knowing that there wasn't any more to be said. The lift reached the bottom, and the two Aura masters set off through the hole into the next cave.

In this room, the sound of machinery on rock was grating, sound muffled by nothing and bouncing off of the empty cave walls. Another lift led up towards the sound, which the mates quickly boarded.

As the two Lucario crested the mound, they spotted the digging machine in the upper-right corner of the room. The two gasped in unison—they'd been warned immediately by the normal residents of the island that there was a cave buried there, one that should stay closed lest the opener face the wrath of the Iron Guardian. If the humans were trying to open it, then they must want the Guardian for themselves. There was no way the two Pokémon would let these anarchists get their hands on the Guardian!

Both sprung into action, leading with ExtremeSpeed and bowling over the two monitors. The third member, a tall man with spiky, light blue hair, a black jumpsuit covered by a vest, and cold eyes, observed this in silence. He had been expecting the arrival of wild Pokémon since his team had reported the attack. Calmly, the leader of team Galactic pulled a Pokeball from his belt and called forth its captive.

In a flash of light, a large black dog appeared. It had grey horns curling from its head, an orange muzzle, grey ridges down its back, and a skull at the hollow if its throat. It let out a disturbing howl, catching the attention of Lucario and Toya. The man considered the two for a moment before releasing another Pokémon.

This creature was a purple bat with blue wing membranes. Its vicious yellow eyes locked onto Toya and Lucario as its four wings, the top two larger than the bottom two, flitted to keep it afloat. "Crobat!"

Toya wasted no time charging forward, she engaged the dog Pokémon at once with a variety of punishing punches and kicks. The man cringed slightly, not out of sympathy for his Pokémon, but out of surprise of how strong this wild Pokémon was. It knew Close Combat already.

Lucario, meanwhile, went for the Crobat. Rather than call upon a move from the wild, Lucario used his training as a Smasher to hit the flying bat with a leaping kick. Cyrus didn't even blink as he ordered his Crobat's counter. "Confuse Ray."

Crobat responded by flying out of range and calling forth a beam of light. The wily flyer launched the beam at Lucario, which struck. But rather than take damage, Lucario became disoriented. Such was the effect of Confuse Ray. Meanwhile, the leader of Team Galactic called out his order to the dog Pokémon. "Houndoom, Will-O-Wisp!"

The dog, Houndoom responded by backing out of close range. Toya seemed slightly drained, but stayed wary. Her opponent summoned forth several ghostly balls of flame and launched them at Toya. She dodged each one with grace and skill before calling forth a bone-shaped energy stick and proceeded to pound mercilessly on Houndoom.

Houndoom, as many trainers could tell you, are not known for their defense. The brutal onslaught of Close Combat, a Fighting move, combined with this crushing attack—the Ground-type Bone Rush—was too much for the Dark-and-Fire hybrid. It crumpled easily under the unforgiving assault and fainted.

As the man recalled Houndoom, he called his next order to Crobat. "Air Slash!" Crobat's other moves were both Poison attacks, which wouldn't do anything to the Steel-Fighting combos. But they were both capable of normal taking damage from Air Slash—their Steel resistance was negated by their Fighting weakness to Flying moves.

Crobat gathered a ball of blue energy and fired it at Lucario. Confused and unable to dodge, the Smasher took the hit directly, falling backwards in a daze. Toya went to cover him. As Crobat flew up into the cavern, the leader of Team Galactic pulled another Pokeball from his belt. "Gyarados, attack!"

The ball opened, and a large, blue sea serpent appeared in the subsequent flash of light. The creature roared, causing the cavern to rumble. Toya simply took a fighting stance. There was no way she'd back down now, two-to-one or not.

The Galactic leader laughed. "Ha ha ha ha ha! Do you really think you stand a chance against me? I am the finest battler on Team Galactic! Know my name, rare Lucario; I am Cyrus, the one who will control the new universe! Crobat, Air Slash! Gyarados, Waterfall!"

As the two Pokémon charged their energies, Toya stood her ground. Both of these foes were part Flying, rendering her Bone Rush ineffective. Still, she wouldn't be taken down so quickly.

Toya targeted Crobat first. Though it wouldn't do much damage, she launched an Aura Sphere at the bat. Crobat instinctively cancelled its attack to dodge, but the Aura Sphere was unrelenting. The energy orb gave chase to the bat, which tried to outrun the move. Its efforts were in vain, as Toya bounded off the rock wall and into Crobat using ExtremeSpeed. The stunned Pokémon was then hit by the energy ball and sent flying back towards the lift.

Toya turned to find Gyarados charging at her with fierce speed. Though the move lacked the necessary water to make it complete, a Gyarados was fully capable of attacking with great force without it. Toya knew that she wouldn't be able to dodge in time. She closed her eyes and braced for impact.

_Slam_! The shockwave sent Toya reeling, but she remained unscathed. She had seen the blur of Aura coming once she'd closed her eyes. The attack came at such blinding speed that it could only be one Pokémon.

Shal. The Lucario had seen through his confusion and managed to strike the Gyarados hard in its flank. But Shale's clarity was short-lived. He had only gathered enough of his wits to launch the attack, not think about the consequences.

The move drove both straight into the cave wall, but Lucario's collision was fortunately softened by Gyarados. The attack had been quite powerful, too. As the Gyarados hit the floor, its Aura diminished quite significantly. Toya took the time to charge in with another ExtremeSpeed. Though her attack was less powerful than Shale's—how he'd grown in strength!—Toya's hit was enough to finish off the monstrosity of a Pokémon and send it into the abyss of unconsciousness.

Too bad she'd forgotten about Crobat. "Air Slash!"

Toya took a hit to her back and stumbled forward. Like a Houndoom, a Lucario's defense wasn't all that impressive. Toya felt her strength drain as the move hit home, flushing her with a strange power. Shal had mentioned this on one of his visits. Something about the Aura becoming stronger as her strength waned?

Cyrus recalled his Gyarados and immediately sent out his next Pokémon. From the obligatory flash of light came a midnight blue bird. Its feather arrangement made it seem like it was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and its chest was filled out with white down. "Honchkrow!"

Toya turned at this new sound. Though her back was aching from Crobat's move, she knew she couldn't give up yet. She risked a glance at the digging machine. The device was half-buried in the tunnel wall. Another few minutes and the way to the Iron Guardian would be revealed.

However, having two flying-type Pokémon would be difficult to deal with. Crobat had already been weakened, which made life easier. But Honchkrow was fresh. Its Aura told Toya that the Pokémon was both Dark and Flying. A good thing, for Flying types almost never had strong defenses. Plus, the Dark attribute would make it weaker to Toya's Fighting moves. But the fact that Honchkrow had yet to fight meant that it was fresh and strong.

Toya didn't waste a moment. The Honchkrow was a variable to deal with immediately. Though it was poor at defense, the Pokémon could have dangerous moves. Crobat didn't seem to have much in terms of offense that could harm her, so she decided to leave it for the moment. Immediately, Toya dashed in with ExtremeSpeed, catching the flyer off balance.

She slammed into the Dark-Flying combo and launched it into the wall. But the Pokémon wasn't beaten. Taking off from the wall, it readied itself for Cyrus' command. It came: "Drill Peck!"

Honchkrow rocketed at Toya, energy gathered at its bill. Toya prepared an Aura Sphere in response. She launched the energy orb as she dodged the rushing move. Honchkrow was struck in the back by the sphere, but it didn't stop. Pulling into an arc, the Pokémon leveled off facing the opposite way of its previous travel. Toya didn't have the time to react, and the flier slammed its beak into her side.

The off-color Lucario was sent flying. She managed to get a grip on the ground, but she knew that another hit could be the end. Cyrus saw this, too, and decided to finish big. Standing by the digging machine,, he threw a switch on the device as he yelled his order. "Heat Wave!"

Toya cringed. Heat Wave was clearly a Fire-type move—a weakness to a Steel Pokémon. As Honchkrow charged the energy in its beak, the besieged Lucario decided to rush in. It would be risky, but a Close Combat would likely finish off the flying foe.

Neither had a chance to enact their plans. Out of nowhere, Crobat came zipping through the air and collided with Honchkrow, sending both Pokémon sprawling. Toya whipped her head around and saw Shal. The Aura user had cleared its head of the confusion status and was ready to fight again. It seemed that he had taken some damage, likely from his own chaotic mindset, but he was still capable of fighting. Shal flashed Toya a reassuring grin, which the off-color Pokémon returned in spite of herself. There would be time to be irritated at him later.

Both fliers got up from the ground, still ready to fight. Though each had taken a beating, there was no way they'd let themselves fail their master. Cyrus didn't waste a moment. Stepping away from the machine, which had accelerated, he yelled out his next orders. "Air Slash! Heat Wave!"

The flying Pokémon wasted on time. Each gathered their respective energies and prepared to launch.

Meeting eyes, the two Lucario agreed instantly on what to do. Both mates drew upon ExtremeSpeed once again and crashed directly into a different target: Toya to Honchkrow and Shal taking Crobat. The fliers crumpled, neither able to continue the fight any longer. Toya and Shal kicked off of the unconscious bodies and landed in fighting stances. There was a standoff between trainer and Pokémon, with only the ambient sounds of a war and the burrowing machine piercing the air.

Cyrus moved first. Scowling, he pulled one more Pokeball off of his belt. "You two make quite the team. But I'm not impressed. In moments, all of your work will be futile. All I need to do is hold you off for two minutes more." With that, Cyrus released the catch on the Pokeball.

The creature inside was a purple cat-like Pokémon. It had a sort of pink fan on its head, pink frills around its neck, and a pink tail that seemed to be made of feathers. It stood upright, with both feet and hands tipped by claws. Shal recognized it immediately: a Weavile.

"Toya, this Pokémon here is a Dark-and-Ice type. its speed is its greatest advantage, but it also has strong physical attack."

"And you know this how?"

"There are a number where…at the…place," Shal answered lamely. Toya decided to shake it off for the moment.

"I'll take care of the Pokémon. An Aura Sphere or two will crush it easy. You take out the machine." Toya's orders didn't faze Shal. In fact, they made sense. About thirty seconds had already passed. They'd have to stop the machine now.

The sound of the elevator reaching the top drew everyone's attention. One of the workers from below—the one Lucario had knocked out—stepped off. "Hey, boss! I found these things on the lowest floor. I think that they're rare." The grunt hoisted up two unconscious Pokémon. Toya gasped as Shal went rigid.

Coue and Squirtle. They were both bruised and battered, signs that they had put up as much of a fight as they could. The two had been overwhelmed by whatever Pokémon this scientist was toting.

Cyrus examined the scene. "Interesting, Vlan. And I do believe that the parents or the Riolu are right here." The boss of Team Galactic gestured towards Shal and Toya. "So, the wild Pokémon of great skill have a litter. Tell you what. You stay out of our way, and I won't be forced to," Cyrus pulled out two Pokeballs, "capture your child and its friend."

Their paws were tied and they knew it. Both Toya and Shal knew that they couldn't let this man—this maniac!—take Coue from them. There was no telling what he'd do to their poor child. Slowly, the two Lucario slipped from their fighting stances to more submissive postures. The machine groaned on through the rock, an unrelenting and continual reminder of their failure.

Cyrus went over and began talking to Vlan. Probably planning what to do with Coue and Squirtle. Toya and Shal merely stood hopelessly. The golden Lucario sent her mate a murderous glare, blaming him for their children's capture. Shal merely looked down in shame as the wall to the lair of the Iron Guardian crumbled away.

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

The chamber wasn't massive, but it maintained an air of majesty. Seven panels sat on the floor: six surrounding a central one. At the back of the cave, a large statue sat in a sort of metal altar, arms crossed. It was this that Cyrus walked up to first. "Such a grand statue. Surely it holds many answers to the questions we have. Not the least of which is if this chamber is really the holding cell for a legendary Pokémon." Vlan nodded and started taking notes.

Toya and Shal stood outside of the cave. They both could sense the Aura of something powerful in that cave—powerful and dormant. If it should be awakened, the creature would cause great damage in its rage. With Coue and Squirtle still in the clutches of Cyrus and his crony, though, it would be nearly impossible to stop them without some sort of backlash. Only adding to their helpless feeling was Weavile, who was standing in front of them, guard up and ready to strike back at a moment's notice if either Lucario tried anything.

_"Toya…I'm sorry. I never meant to involve you or the children. I had hoped I could come back sooner. Then maybe this wouldn't have happened._"

_"You're right, maybe it wouldn't have happened if you'd stayed._"

The Weavile snickered. Listening to these two argue about what was and what could have been was rather amusing. It didn't even notice the elevator activating.

"_Toya, my love. I know that there's nothing I can say to earn your forgiveness. So I'll let my actions speak instead._"

"_What, those same actions that cost us out children?_"

"_Better._"

Without a word of further explanation, Shal darted forth and grasped the Weavile and grabbed the surprised Weavile by the side. The Dark-and-Ice combo hardly had time to cry out before it was silenced by an explosive Force Pam to the chest.

Cyrus and Vlan turned quickly at the cry of the Weavile—to face the surprising onslaught of a blue light and two swords. The blue light passed over Coue and Squirtle, taking them from the danger zone that was created by a whirling, multi-pointed blade and a small explosion. Neither human had enough time to step back before the swirling Galaxia picked them up. Once Meta Knight let the two villains go, Ike stepped in and plunged Ragnell into the ground, calling forth his devastating Eruption technique and engulfing the pair in a cataclysmic fireball.

Cut and burnt, both Vlan and Cyrus hit the ground hard, eyes swirls of pain and confusion. While they may have been raised in the Pokémon world, they were not super-powered creatures themselves. No human had the resistance to attack that a wild creature of this land possessed naturally.

Shal turned to his friends. "Good timing. Thank you."

PDPPPDPPPDPPPDPPPDPP

The portal thrummed, as if it was sharing in the joy of the entire island. The Pokémon had managed to defeat the Team Galactic taskforce, most of who had fled back into the sunlight once their stocks of Pokémon had fainted. A few had been rounded up and were being guarded by some Onix and Steelix, who surrounded the frightened humans with their bodies to make a sort of pen. In the background, a number of Pokémon were working diligently to plug the entryway to the Iron Guardian's chamber.

With disaster averted and their foes defeated, life began to return to normal. Families of Pokémon tended to the wounded and fainted rebels, carrying them off to caves and holes so that they could heal. Recovery for the Iron Island residents would be slow, but time was on their side now.

Toya, with Coue finally awakened, stood opposite of the Smashers in front of the portal. With Shale's prompting, she tried to speak with the fighters through her Aura-fueled telepathy. It was slow going.

"So…you have to…go now?" Strawberry nodded. "I guess…you…cannot stay. You are not…Pokémon. We are. It is not natural. Excepted are Squirtle and…Shal." The Smashers each raised an eyebrow or the equivalent at the name. "Shal…my mate…?"

Ike understood first. "Your Pokémon name is 'Shal'?" Sonic burst out laughing.

"Yes, it is. Though you may continue to call me Lucario if you wish. Shut up, Sonic!" The last part was growled in a surprisingly threatening mental voice, which prompted the hedgehog to stop.

"Good…luck on your…quest. May you…save your friends."

Lucario stepped forward and embraced his mate. Coue giggled. Though the Riolu was still battered—Toya had refused to let the Smashers heal him—he was recovering fairly quickly. For her part, Toya was surprised, but accepted the hug with little reluctance.

"_Good Aura guide you, Shal._"

"_Thank you, and the same upon you and Coue._"

"_And Shal?_"

"_Hm?_"

Toya smacked Shal across his muzzle. "_Don't return until you're serious about raising our child!_"

"_Of course, Toya…_"

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

**Bloopers Time!**

Cyrus went over and began talking to Vlan. Probably planning what to do with Coue and Squirtle. Toya and Shal merely stood hopelessly. The golden Lucario sent her mate a murderous glare, blaming him for their children's capture. Shal merely looked down in shame as the wall to the lair of the Iron Guardian crumbled away.

A strange orange glow filled the cave, catching everyone by surprise. From the revealed chamber came a strange creature. No, it was a robot!

While most of its body was a metal-grey, the mechanical being had one large orange head set in front of a cradling spike. Its feet were also sheathed in this orange metal. The strange mech was about as tall as Cyrus, and had a very foreign air about it.

Then, from the lift, another figure emerged. Springing to life was a bulky orange robot. _No_, Shal realized, _that's…_

"Samus!" The warrior and the robot, who had just engaged in a fire-fight, both turned to the jackal-like Pokémon. "What are you doing here?"

"Wait," replied the woman, "this isn't Alinos, is it?" Lucario shook his head. "Darn it. Come on, Guardian. I think we landed in the wrong game."

And so, Samus placed her free hand around the automaton's shoulders and guided it towards the exit.

Once they were out of earshot, Vlan turned to Cyrus. "Pay up, boss. I told you some weird crap would be in that cave." The leader of Team Galactic grumbled as he fished in his pockets for money.

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

**"Great crike, it's done. Finally, finally, finally finished.**

**"Alright, I'll try to be brief. Iron Island is an area only accessible through Canalave City's boat, captained by Sailor Eldritch. Team Galactic is the main villainous group in Sinnoh, and has had dealings with Iron Island before.**

**"I followed the model of both the island and Cyrus' story and team from Platinum, the most recent of the non-spinoff Pokémon games. In Platinum, the player faces him down in the Distortion World after following the boss into the alternate dimension. The Pokémon you saw him use are the ones from that party. Also, the 'Iron Guardian' is Registeel, and is found in that place on Iron Island in Platinum only. Since Team Galactic is basically the current Team Rocket, it figures that they'd want rare Pokémon.**

**"Next, Toya is off-color so that there could be a distinction between Lucario and his mate. Coue also originally had a sibling, Leeth. But I realized that only one egg is laid at a time in the Pokémon world, so…yeah. Also, I was thinking of Latoya Jackson from that one Family Guy episode when I thought up her name. 'Shal' is derived from 'shall.'**

**"Finally, the bloopers. Since I called Registeel the 'Iron Guardian,' and since I was thinking about Metroid Prime Hunters, I figured that throwing Samus into a fight with one of my least favorite enemies would fit here as a joke. And yes, the two are buddies despite any better judgment I may have.**

**"Now that that's done, I'll see you when I next update. In the meantime," Foxpilot holds up R.O.B.'s head, "I'm gonna try and get this thing hacked." The robotic cranium promptly zaps Foxpilot. "Yeowch! Damn it! Oh yeah, you're going down, bolt-bucket.**

**"Now if you'll excuse me, ciao chow."**

Cyrus went over and began talking to Vlan. Probably planning what to do with Coue and Squirtle. Toya and Shal merely stood hopelessly. The golden Lucario sent her mate a murderous glare, blaming him for their children's capture. Shal merely looked down in shame as the wall to the lair of the Iron Guardian crumbled away.


	12. Portal Five: Mushroom Kingdom

**"Hat…keys…wallet…shades…uh…phone! Alright, time to go meet up with the guys for lunch!" And with that, Foxpilot strolls out of his room, following the corridors until he reaches the outside. Two steps away from a large starfighter, a grainy version of the Star Wolf Theme from Star Fox Command starts playing. "Huh? Oh, phone."**

**Foxpilot fishes his cell phone out of his pocket and enables the talk function. "'Ello, govenah! Uh-huh…uh-huh…oh, blast. Alright, thanks for the reminder. Guess we'll be having dinner rather than lunch, huh? Alright, be there soon. Ciao chow." F-p turns the phone off and promptly turns on his heel, heading back towards the building. "Damn."**

**The crowd, seated and excited, mutters amongst itself as they wait for the show to begin. Applause erupts as Foxpilot, still wearing his fedora and sunglasses, strides onto the stage. The author waits until the cheers calm down before starting. "Thank you, you're all too kind.**

**"Anyway, this is indeed the twelfth chapter of 'Blue Sun.' And the number of reviews is greater than fifty! This means that once this chapter is released, the story will have an exciting four-to-one-plus review/chapter ratio!" The audience is silent. "What, not good enough, or are your hands just sore?" The studio is filled with cries of annoyance at the theatrics.**

**"Sheesh, what, did you all have Cranky-O's for breakfast? Alright, fine. Let me just point out that our chapters will now be brought to you in high-definition R.O.B. Vision.**

**"Anyway, Meta Knight, if you will be so kind?"**

**MK steps out to thunderous applause and deafening cheers from one section of the room. Foxpilot mutters something about hyper-fans, but Meta Knight speaks over him. "Foxpilot does not own the Smash Brothers or anything else Nintendo-related in terms of licensing. If he did, stumbling in Brawl wouldn't exist, as it is dumb." Another section of the auditorium breaks out in praise.**

**"Fickle fans," F-p mutters, but speaks louder for the next part. "Alright, let's get the show on the road—or some cheesy line like that! Let it…Begin!"**

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

Snake wasn't sure which he preferred: the broiling heat or the freezing cold. Sure, before he'd felt like he was being cooked alive—which is horrible in a skin-tight suit—but here his sweat was freezing all over his body. The cold wind hadn't expanded, but it seemed to have grown more intense as time passed.

Furthermore, the light in the center of the chamber of flames had become so bright that the shine reflected off of the fire walls. There was no safety for eyesight anymore; it was too bright to face the light directly, and continually facing away from the shine exposed one's back to the chomping—far more than biting—winds. This meant that there was no way, shape, or form a moment of peace existed, as you were either getting eyes roasted out of your skull or your spine frozen to the nerves. A constant turning was needed.

As a soldier, Snake was used to constant, vigilant motion and lack of sleep. But even his greatest adventures hadn't challenged him this much. He'd set up shop in sub-arctic climates and tropical biomes, but those were both New York City parks in spring by comparison.

The legendary mercenary became vaguely aware of someone calling his name. Eventually, his tired mind realized that it was Samus calling to him. The lady was nine bubbles down, clockwise from Snake's position. "What?" Snake called tersely. He hadn't meant to be short, no, but everyone's nerves were split down the middle.

Samus didn't seem fazed by his gruffness. Instead, she merely plunged on. "You know what? I think that if we get out of this alive, I'll agree to a date." Everyone's attention snapped from their own misery to the bounty huntress' words at the last syllable. Samus, the great, stoic, and exceptionally single queen of guns was saying that she'd go out with someone? Let alone Snake? That could only mean that they were doomed!

The mercenary responded, his rough attitude forgotten at this astonishing development. "U-uh…I…er, sure. I'd be glad to take you out…on a date! Yes, on a date!"

"Good. Then shut up and start praying, David, because we'll need every ounce of our wills left to get out of here. Oh, and if you get too forward on that date, I'll scare you so much that you'll age twenty years in a day."

A collective sigh came from everyone else. At least Samus hadn't lost all of her edge to this accursed heat.

SSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSBSSB

"Ow…ow…ow…okay, that's fine. Thank you."

"But we still haven't taken care of that emotional trauma."

"That'll be fi—wait, what?"

"Tickle time!"

"You get away from—hee hee hee…ha ha…Aha ha ha ha!"

Lucario fell backwards, nearly cracking his head on a rock. Squirtle, meanwhile, continued to use its finger-like flippers to tickle the Aura master's side, keeping the larger Pokémon subdued with laughter. It wasn't long before Sonic joined in.

While the three super-powered creatures were busy, Ike tossed out the empty Super Potion bottles. Lucario had been difficult to convince, but eventually the Pokémon allowed Ike to administer medicine. Sonic, meanwhile, had plotted with Squirtle to cheer up the depressed Smasher. It seemed to be working, though both the hedgehog and the turtle seemed to be taking too much pleasure in their friend's torture.

During this, Marth and Meta Knight took in their surroundings. They were in a courtyard of sorts, with trees dotting the landscape. The grassy hill seemed steep, but easily climbable for anyone in shape. Mountains closed in the entire garden. In fact, the only way out seemed to be the pipe that the group had shot out of. Over the previously-examined knoll, the pointed tops of castle towers were visible. Meta Knight was confused, but Marth was familiar with the territory. "Mushroom Kingdom. Specifically, Princess Peach's castle."

"Hey, yeah." Falco, who had come through the pipe next to last, finally caught on. "Huh, never thought I'd see this again after the big hand wiped it from the stage selection."

"What are you talking about?" Meta Knight nodded his confusion when Ike asked this. Marth was quick to explain.

"Back in the Melee combats, one of the stages was on this castle. This is Princess Peach's home. Mario's been here countless times to save her from imprisonment by Bowser or otherwise." Ike's questioning look prompted Falco to speak next.

"There've been some other weirdoes that've taken over the place. Some wackos that the Toads here dubbed the 'Shroobs,' and some idiot from another kingdom callin' himself 'Awful' or somethin'. Anyway, we should get inside and see if anyone needs help. We'll probably be going inside anyway in order to find the portal."

Strawberry stepped up. "That's right. I think the next warp is on one of the upper floors. This'll be a historic walk through the halls for this place—most people don't get to see the inside."

"So how do we get in, then," asked Lucario, who was holding both Sonic and Squirtle under his arms. The two fighters were struggling valiantly against the Aura user's grip, but the Pokémon's recovered state proved to be too strong.

"That's easy," replied Strawberry. "The Toads are far too trusting for their own good. All we need to say is that we know Mario, Luigi, and Peach. They'll let us in on our word."

SMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSM

And their word was taken just as Strawberry said. The atrium of the castle was a stunning scene. Blue walls surrounded an exquisite two-level foyer, with the top tier connected to the lower floor by a grand carpeted staircase. Several doors sat in the walls, each leading to their own room. A skylight let in the sun. Looking up gave one the feeling that they were flying away.

"So this is Mario's hangout, huh? It's not that impressive."

"Right, Sonic. I saw you starin' at the solid gold stars on the doors."

"Shut up, Falco."

"Both of you have more respect," Marth cut in. "This is Princess Peach's castle. It's the center of the Mushroom Kingdom's political power and the home of a great figurehead for the country. The Toads are fiercely loyal to Peach and will take offense if you insult her or her status. Besides, it has a better look than Altea Castle back home." The nobleman ignored the angry glares he earned for his reprimand.

"So it's just up in the tallest tower, you said?" Meta Knight was trying to break the tension as much as reaffirm the location of the portal.

"Yes. We can probably just get a Toad to lead us up there. Here comes one now—holy Hands, he's on fire!"

Indeed, the Toad, who had just dashed out from one of the doors, was aflame. His clothes were burning and his white, red-spotted mushroom cap was blackened by hideous burns. The most horrible part, though, was the hoarse screaming that accompanied the sight. "AAAAAAAGH!"

Squirtle wasted no time. In the span of three seconds, the turtle leapt forward, doused the Toad with a well-aimed Water Gun, and stuck a victorious pose. Nearby, frightened Toads began to applaud the Pokémon's quick actions.

"'Leave it alone,' you said. 'Let it rest,' you said. Well, what do you think now, huh Ike?" Falco burst out laughing. Ike simply stewed before landing a well-deserved punch on Lombardi's beak. Marth covered his face with a hand.

"Oh, thank you, strange creature!" The Toad was perky and excited, despite being in generally bad shape. "You saved me! Oh, but our biggest oven has exploded. It wasn't cleaned properly for a long time, and the grease in the bottom caught fire and ignited the gas! Oh, how will we ever bake the castle's dinner now?"

The Smashers' eyes turned to Ike, who seemed surprised. "What?"

SMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSM

"This is _not_ my idea of a good time," Ike growled as he dug into his stamina reservoir. His Eruption technique, learned specifically for the Smash Bros. combats, didn't take a lot of energy to perform. However, he was still human—the heat from the attack still affected him outside of the battles. As such, he was pulling all he could from his body to keep himself standing. Thankfully, he had a dedicated Toad retainer keeping him hydrated.

"Don't worry about it, Ike. This'll be over soon and we can be on our way. Besides, you're a mercenary, right? They said they'd pay you for this." Falco, mixing dough for the dinner, chuckled a bit at his remark.

"What do _you _know about being a mercenary," Ike snapped. Falco stopped stirring for a moment before laughing again. The guffaws made Ike fume, which almost caused him to lose control of his spell.

"Mr. Ike, sir! Please do turn down the flames! The pies will burn." The coarse voice of the warrior's assistant brought Ike back down a bit. Mumbling an apology, he reduced the flame output of his spell.

Around him, the kitchen was full of bustling activity. Each Smasher—besides Ike—had volunteered for a duty in helping to prepare the dinner. The sooner Ike was finished with his role as a cooking fire, the sooner they could move on. Falco had taken on a dough-mixing role. Lucario and Squirtle were helping to carry supplies from the stores below the castle. Sonic and Marth had decided to help with bringing in vegetables and fruits from the gardens. Meta Knight was taking drink orders from the staff that worked outside of the kitchens. And Strawberry, who lacked the size and general muscle to pull heavy work or run around without being in the way, was using her superior sense of smell to tell when the dinners—vegetable-filled pot pies—were done. The whole process was running rather smoothly on all fronts.

The pie-making crews continued their work for another twenty minutes before a Toad ran in, panicking. Nobody took notice until Sonic, who had followed the mushroom-man, yelled out what the kingdom citizen was too shy to say. "Hey, everyone! The gardens have been raided!"

All production ceased. Ike's flames petered out, while Lucario, who had returned with the drink orders, turned to stare at the hedgehog in horror. In fact, fear seemed to be the general consensus among the Toads.

All Hell broke loose.

Pans crashed to the floor. Pots clattered into each other. Screams of terror filled the cooking hall as Toads unleashed the madness of their panic. The pies in the oven were left unattended as the present Smashers pulled into a huddle to discuss what to do. The conversation was soon joined by Marth, who reported what had seemed to have happened.

"Moles," said the royal. "Large ones, it seems. They took most of the food from the garden and are holding it for ransom. One of their representatives came and said that we need to give up Princess Peach to Bowser in order to get the food back."

Ike snorted. "Fat lot of good we can do. Bowser and Peach are both MIA. And if we try to take the stuff back, we'll end up in a time-costly battle."

"Yeah, but negotiations probably ain't gonna help, either." Falco made a good point. If these moles were Bowser's minions, they'd be loyal to a fault. Their stupidity would make them stubborn as they tried to please their leader. They were in a true bind.

"Maybe we could just take their leader hostage?" The Smashers turned to Marth, who had an oddly determined look on his face.

"What are you saying?"

"I've seen this sort of thing before. If we take something precious from the people, the followers will bend to the will of the captor. It's a dirty trick, and one I don't approve of. But we need to finish this standoff before it drags on. If there's anything I dislike more than a dirty trick, it's a siege."

"Taking a leader hostage would be rather tough. Maybe if their chief has kids, we could use them as leverage." This time, Sonic got strange looks. "Well, I've seen the mole-holes. These things are far too big to just grapple with. And if they're holding the food hostage, then they're willing to stay for the long-run. But if we take Marth's idea, then we can end this quickly."

"Are any of us even small enough to fit down the holes?" The Smashers all grumbled at Meta Knight's suggestion. Squirtle might have been small enough, but it wasn't particularly stealthy. Besides, the turtle wasn't made for the dirt.

"I'll go." Strawberry, in the circle of feet the Smasher had formed, gazed into each warrior's eyes with steel resolve. "I should be small enough to fit down into a mole's den. And as a fox, stealth is something I'm inherently good at. Still, we'll need to cover up the scent of my paws. Moles may have difficulty seeing, but that handicap ups their other senses. Smell will be important, and foxes aren't known for their rosy odor."

"You smell fine to me."

"Ike, as Crazy Hand's…creation, I'm tailored to not stink to you Smashers. But I doubt the average peon of Bowser is given that luxury. We'll need some way to cover my scent tracks."

"Squirtle!" Wedging its way into the group, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon held out something—a squash. "Squirtle squirt squirt squiiiiiirtle." The tortoise mimed rubbing the fruit on its back and feet. "Squirt Squirtle irtle."

"Squirtle is saying," Lucario translated, "that if you rub yourself with the raw fruit left in the kitchen, it should mix with your natural odor and mask it enough that the moles shouldn't smell you unless you get close. It may clog up your nose, though."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take."

SMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSM

The tunnels were dark, the light blocked as the blue vixen squeezed down the passageway. Though she was lithe, the moles were clearly capable of moving in small spaces. Still, she crawled on, clawing her way through the earth as her eyes adjusted to the gloom.

Unfortunately, Squirtle's prediction had come true. Because every ounce of fur had to be covered, Straw's entire frame had been covered in squash juice. The resulting stench drowned out all other smells unless they were directly in front of her nose—a luxury that wouldn't be afforded all that often in the mole tunnels.

The dirt itself reeked of moles passing through. Strawberry found her chops slavering slightly at the smell of delicious meat just waiting to be slain and eaten. Perhaps with a rosemary garnish—

The fox shook her head as much as the tunnels would allow. Edging on, Strawberry forced thoughts of the hunt from her mind. Her mission was one of stealth and retrieval. Eating would endanger not only her, but potentially cost the crew of Peach's Castle all of the food they had. There could be no mistakes.

As the darkness in her eyes thinned, Straw was able to pick out the end of the tunnel. Several paths diverged from the path, drawing a glaring flaw in the plan—there was no way to follow the right one.

Strawberry would normally use her nose to pick out the direction of the crops that the mole clan had taken. But with the smell of squash forcing out all other ambient aromas, it was impossible to even tell when a mole might come.

Wait.

It would be slow going, but it was all the fox had left to go on. Turning back wasn't an option—there wasn't time to think up another plan. So the only option was to follow the scents closely. The enemy had passed through these tunnels recently. Perhaps once she made her way into their gathering chambers, there would be some way to tell where the nursery—her target—would be.

With that in mind, Strawberry pressed her nose to the ground and trekked onward.

The slow pace gave her eyes time to adjust completely to the darkness. This saved the vixen, as she saw the outlines of moles heading her way. There wasn't time to dig a shelter, so she would have to use stealth to get around them.

But the three critters—larger in size than the average mole—were lined up laterally; the two moles on the outside had their fur scraping against the tunnel wall. There would be no way around them.

On the plus side, the scent-blocking plan seemed to be working. The moles didn't appear to smell Strawberry, leaving her with the options of mounting an ambush or running. A fight would draw attention, and there wasn't time to run back.

Only forward, then.

Screaming a war cry in her head, the blue vixen dashed forward and dove between the left two moles. Fur scraped against fur as she put the one hope she had left to the test—

—And popped out the other side. Wasting no time on listening to the confused griping of the three enemies, Strawberry took off down the tunnel as fast as her legs would let her. The superior vision of her vulpine eyes would have to suffice from now on.

As she ran, Strawberry couldn't help but pat herself on the back. As she had suspected, the creatures were more fluff than fat, leaving the space between them to be largely air. Furthermore, the moles were Bowser's minions—inherently a vocation for the stupid. They'd think that their friend had rubbed against them. The mutterings of dissent faded behind Strawberry as she dashed through the passage.

Now her nose was filled with the smell of sweaty mutant mole, though. _But_, reflected the vixen, _this isn't a bad thing. Now I smell more like them, so I can get past any guards more easily_.

SMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSM

Her prediction proved true. The shade-wearing mammals didn't seem to mind when Strawberry passed them by. A few even tossed out a greeting, commenting on the healthy smell of squash coming from their clan-member's fur. For her part, the vixen just grunted in response and moved on.

Shortly though, Strawberry found herself lost again. Asking a passing mole would have been risky, so she had to resort to her nose once more. Pressing her nostrils into the dirt of the cramped tunnel, the blue vulpine began to track the strong scent of a dominant male. Presumably, the leaders' chamber would be close to the nursery.

The process was as slow as ever, but finally, Straw ambled her way into an amphitheater. The room had a higher ceiling than most of the tunnels and was large enough to host the entire clan of moles, the residents of Peach's Castle, and the Koopa King himself. To the left were two unoccupied thrones—presumably for the dominant mates. Strawberry felt a quick pang of sadness for her own short lifespan, but shook it off. As a tool for the Smashers, her job was to get Master Hand back as quickly as possible. Therefore, her immediate goal was to find a child, not birth one.

Ah! From the far wall came the sound of crying. Looking both ways for traffic, Strawberry broke into a dash and made for the sound.

She came into a room that smelled…ripe. The scent of child leavings hung heavily in the air, masking the individual aromas of each child. In the back, an elderly mole was cleaning up after the children. Apparently, he had not seen Straw enter.

Off to the right, opposite of the cleaning mole, stood a crib on its own. Though there was little decoration in the room as a whole, this bed was obviously sculpted for something—or someone—special. Padding over to this bed, the vixen stood on her hind paws and peered into it.

Sleeping peacefully was a moderately-sized mole child. Now that Straw was close, she could smell the odors of both a dominant male and female all over the kid. _Finally!_

Picking up the toddler proved to be nearly impossible. There just wasn't enough leverage to grab a child that size in her mouth. Stumped, Straw sat down to think.

Stretching her neck wouldn't help much at this point—there wouldn't be enough lift that way, either. Besides, her neck could only lengthen in one direction. Bending it would be too risky. Pulling the crib was out. It was built into the dirt floor, anyway. And getting through the bed quietly would take far too long.

"Hello, dear."

Strawberry almost gave a startled yelp, but clamped her mouth shut just in time. Whirling around, she found the cleaning mole standing over her. "H-hi," she squeaked.

"Trying to get a look at the prince, are you? Well, you seem to be a might small for an adult. But you've been on the garden raid, I smell. Just getting into your maturity years, are you?"

"Uh…" Strawberry struggled to find the words she needed. Finally, she had an idea. "Er, yeah. Just getting to the pillaging age. But, you know, I've never actually seen the, eh, Prince. Would you be so kind as to help?"

"Sure, young one. I don't think I can pick you up, but maybe if I get Monty…" The caretaker reached into the crib and took the child from its holding. "Here you are, dear."

"Thanks." Without hesitation, Strawberry flipped the young mole onto her back—nearly collapsing from the extra weight—and whipped around. Before the elder knew what was happening, the vixen was already springing toward the tunnel she entered from.

SMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSM

It wasn't long before a troop of enraged moles was snapping at her heels. Furthermore, the child was crying into her hypersensitive ear. Swallowing the retorts and curses flowing through her mind, Strawberry rushed through the tunnels as fast as her legs would carry her.

Dirt clods would occasionally hit her tail or knock pieces of the tunnel's ceiling down on her head. One such hit had even gotten dust in her eye, rendering her half-blind. Still, the vixen tore on, knowing that capture would be doom and failure for her mission.

And so she ran, following what she thought was the correct path. Left, right, straight, left, left again, right…_Blast! Which way now?_

Confused by a five-way crossroad, Strawberry began to panic. Readjusting the sobbing child's position, the vixen began to think hard again. She couldn't tell which path she had come down, and her pursuers would be ripping her tail off in mere seconds. There was only one thing to try—sniffing.

Her nose hit the ground, and Straw began to scent. Mole, mole, squash, mole…wait, squash! Taking the cue from the scent of fruit, the vixen chose the left-most path and darted down it.

Right, left, straight, left, right, right…Strawberry became aware of the tunnel's gradient changing. It was angling up! Finally, glaring sunlight pierced her good eye. With a final burst of speed, the vulpine plowed up the home stretch.

Freedom! The sun in the garden began to bake the fur on her back as strong hands lifted the wailing mole prince from her spine. The sound of raging citizens followed almost immediately.

"Hold it!" Squinting against the sudden brightness, Straw could just make out the massive form of Ike holding Ragnell to above the screaming child. "One false step and the kid becomes my next snack."

Screams of horror pervaded the air until a commanding voice rang out. The speaker was male and proud, but Strawberry's sensitive fox ears picked out fear and wariness. "Return our child."

"Certainly," Ike responded. "But I'd like to make a nice little deal first."

SMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSM

From the window, Marth watched as the moles returned vegetable and fruit alike from their treasure trove. "Well, I'd have preferred to do it another way, but this was resolved quickly enough."

"Yeah, and we got a free meal out of it, too. It doesn't get better than that!"

"Falco," admonished Ike, "We did something more than just score food. We helped keep people from starving. Isn't that its own reward?"

"Jeez, Ike, you sound like Marth. Why are you complainin', anyway? You ate four of those pies!"

"Hey, keeping that kid in my grip was hard."

While the mercenaries bickered, Lucario and Strawberry were having a talk near a door. The portal to the next realm was through there, but nobody was quite ready to leave yet. Sonic, Squirtle, and Meta Knight were exploring the castle's third floor—Sonic for a bathroom, Meta Knight for someplace to think quietly, and Squirtle for the heck of it.

"So you're still stuck on the mortality issue?"

"…Yes. It's just hard, knowing that all you are is a tool; use and dispose. I think I've been losing some stamina as this venture's been continuing, too. Back in the Lylat System, I was able to pull down the monster's heart with ease. Here, though, I had trouble keeping the mole prince on my back. I fear that Lord Crazy's magic is wearing off."

"That's a tall order to hold inside." Lucario paused. "Training with the Aura teaches respect for all life. The simplest flower and the greatest Pokémon have equal right to live, as they both have a role to play in the universe. Your purpose doesn't have to end. And I have already promised to help with that."

"Thanks."

"C'mon, step it up! We gotta get moving!"

"Sonic's back. Are you ready to go on?"

"Lucario, the others aren't back yet."

"Who do you think Sonic is talking to?"

"Ah."

Lucario opened the door, and eight beings stepped inside. One wall was covered by mirrors separated by columns. Several podiums stood in the middle of the room, one of which held a large, pink flower. Otherwise, the room was bare.

Knowing her duty well, Strawberry touched two of the pillars on the mirrored wall. The reflective surface between them turned opaque and began to crackle with energy. One by one, the Smashers entered the portal and were on their way to the next destination.

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**Blooper!**

"Tickle time!"

"You get away from—hee hee hee…ha ha…Aha ha ha ha!"

Lucario fell backwards, nearly cracking his head on a rick. The group stopped dead as they realized that this rick was not just any rick, but Rick Astley. The mood turned from lightly humorous to horror.

The Rick began to sing.

"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down! Never gonna run around…and hurt you!"

The screams of the Rickrolled souls tortured the land for about five minutes.

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**"Well, I'm horrible. The last time I worked on this story, it had three less reviews. Thank you to Lord of the Storm 29 for bumping that up over fifty! Now for the obligatory explanations.**

**"First off, this is the _Super Mario 64_ castle, but with a nod to the DS version. Next, and more importantly, are the moles.**

**"The moles are a classic enemy type known as the 'Monty Mole.' They are brown, fat, furry moles that hurt the player if you touch them. They pop out of the ground and roam tunnels trying to impede the Mario Bros. I'm fairly sure they've been semi-sentient in the past, so I made use of that here. Basically, I made Bowser's minions seem organized.**

**"The thing you're probably wondering at is the Rickroll. In the original draft, I accidentally put 'rick' instead of 'rock.' 'Rick' is a word as well as a name; it means to twist or wrench, kinda like wrenching your shoulder. When I reviewed the draft, I saw this and immediately made the connection to the meme. Done.**

**"An interesting note: it's hard to write in Falco's voice because it's so informal that Spell-check gets really picky.**

**"I hope you like R.O.B Vision, because that will be what the rest of the story will be in. Ciao chow, all, and feel free to ask questions if I forgot anything."**


	13. Portal Six: Hyrule

**"These aparoids are serious! Watch your tail, Fox!"**

**"Of course, they're serious, Krystal. It's no fun if they aren't!" The quote was followed by a long blast of gunfire. "Ha ha ha ha ha!"**

**"The machine gun's not working on that enemy."**

**"I _know_ that, Pep! Shut up!"**

**"Are you quite done yelling at the game?"**

**Foxpilot started, almost dropping the controller. On screen, Fox took a hit from an aparoid dragoon's missile, cutting his health by about a third. Pausing the game, the author turned around. "Don't do…How did I no hear you coming?"**

**Lucario crossed his arms and gave what seemed like a smirk. "You think I'd be that easy to hear?"**

**"…That's oddly outta character. You still annoyed about the scenes with Toya?"**

**"It's not as though you have the right to pair me up with someone without my permission."**

**"Since when do I have the rights to any of this?"**

**"True."**

**ANANANANANANANANANAN**

**"Welcome back to 'The Week of Blue Sun,' starring your favorite Smashers!" The crowd is silent at Foxpilot's words. "You're all asleep, aren't you?"**

**Soft snoring floated up from the back.**

**"Alright then, I guess I'll just have to use…this!" Foxpilot pulls his phone out of his pocket and accesses the ring-select function. In moments, the familiar, if grainy tune of Star Wolf begins to echo through the auditorium. The host nods his head to the music for about forty-five seconds, until a high note emits from the device's speakers and pierces the melody like an arrow.**

**Half of the attending audience wakes up. F-p shuts off the cellular device's music and puts it away. "Now that I have your attention, and now that the time has been taken up, I'll leave you all to become reacquainted with each other as the story progresses. As usual, I do not have licensing over these characters. But first, I would like to make two announcements.**

**"First, there's the matter of my first fanart. On my profile, you'll see a website posted. Put it into your browser bar to find…a picture of Strawberry! Honestly, it's not how I pictured her…but it is now! Many thanks to Abigail Satoshi xx for her excellent rendition.**

**"Second, I have decided to ask for an "official" artist to draw OCs and scenes from my stories. You will have to put up with my critical eye, but you get to appear prominently in a story that follows "Blue Sun," along with cameos in my other ongoing stories. The competition is steep, though; there's already a leading candidate. PM me with a link to your entry. You can choose from: Toya, Strawberry, Greg, Clive, or my Author Avatar. Do feel free to ask questions.**

**"Let it…Begin!"**

**The lights dim as the chapter begins to play.**

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Another pristine feather snapped, adding yet another to the collection at the bottom of Pit's bubble. The angel hardly heard it, though; he was too cold to actually care anymore. They say angels are immortal, and that's true. But when in a physical form, their souls are the only thing that can survive any test.

The wind blowing from the light in the center now had shards of ice swirling through it. Though the frozen spears bounced off of the bubble cage, the temperature associated with the phenomenon pierced the energy with ease. Pit's eyes, crusted with ice from frozen tears of pain, gazed out at the burning wall ahead of him. There was no more strength to speak, no more strength to move. The Smashers' bodies were all frozen in place; even the fiery Charizard was nursing what was left of its energy. In fact, the cold seemed to be weakening the wall of fire, too. Before, the inferno had been a blazing white; only the magic spheres kept the light from blinding their occupants. Now, the hellish prison was only a deep shade of blue—far cooler than it was previously. Pit guessed that the freezing air emitted from the horrid light was cutting the temperature drastically.

The angel's eyelids grew heavy again. With no will available, Pit allowed them to shut, sealing his world into a dark gray. His mortal body, the physical representation of his holy soul, was failing. Soon he would see Palutena again…But what of the others?

Before being overtaken by the need to sleep, Pit called out with his mind one last time. _Goddess Palutena…please…guide the souls of…my friends…_

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The air was a strange mix of earthly scents and moist textures. Looking over the guard railing, it was easy to see why: the ruins sat high above an enormous lake spanned by a bridge with long-eroded supports. Marth was surprised the stone monument even stood anymore.

"It's beautiful…but we have to keep moving."

Meta Knight was correct as usual. The sun was setting behind the mountains, painting the sky all shades of orange, red, and yellow. The night would come swiftly; if Strawberry was right, Hyrule's sun wouldn't last twenty more minutes. Tearing his eyes from the scene, Marth returned to the group.

Strawberry, exhausted by her underground excursion, hung from Ike's shoulder. The vixen had been embarrassed at the turn of events, but there was nothing for it now. Marth stifled a yawn brought on by the fox's drooping lids. They would all need sleep, and if Straw was right, they were close to Hyrule Castle Town. While the others were discussing how to pay for a night at an inn, the nobleman pondered a more luxurious option.

LZLZLZLZLZLZLZLZLZLZ

"Prince of…Alternate?"

"Altea, good sir. My friends and I have come a long way and wish to speak with your king."

The guard blinked stupidly and stared at Marth as though the Altean were the dope. "We don't got a king, 'Your Highness'. Only a noble Princess-to-be-Queen, who's off doing some sort of intercontinental meeting that's lasted for a long time now. Besides, she isn't after suitors; the great Hero's her chosen man."

Marth resisted the biting outburst forming on his tongue. Sure, his royal clothes had been ruined over the past few days, but the noble leader of Altea still bore his regal air!

"Besides, we ain't hosting a costume party. As you can see," the guard gestured to the scaffolding behind him, "we're busy rebuilding the castle. Our own Princess doesn't even have a place to stay after that bastard Zant destroyed everything."

"I thought Ganondorf destroyed it!" blurted Ike. Falco whacked him on the head, sparking an argument between the two mercenaries.

The guard scoffed. "Gay-non-dwarf? He's a legend for scaring kids at night. No, we're talking some freak from the shadows who commanded an army of near-invincible beasts. But the Hero finished him off. The battle destroyed the castle, but it was worth it. He saved our Princess and the land!"

Meta Knight stepped up, taking a challenging stance. "That's not important right now. Where does the Princess sleep? Prince Marth is a…royal envoy from Altea and wishes to meet with her."

"Didn't you hear me, shorty? She's out of the country. She left her trusted advisors in charge, and they're staying out of public view. So go away, all of you!"

"Now Taurence, don't be rude." A short, balding man wearing opaque glasses and fancy robes stepped up. His remaining hair, two large puffs that covered his ears, caught the setting sun, taking on the appearance of strands of fire. "These fellows have all come a long way. Certainly we can at least offer them asylum for the night."

"But Minister, these men are freaks! Just look at this one." Taurence pointed a meaty finger at Meta Knight. "He's got to be some sort of monster!"

The Minister brought a wizened hand up and pulled the livid guard's arm back down. Turning the Smashers, the small Hylian fixed an unseen stare on each member of the troupe. "Some of these people do seem rather strange, don't they? But they mean no harm. Besides, this young man," the Minister indicated Marth, "has all the bearing of a nobleman. We have strange creatures in our land, do we not? Perhaps the world is more diverse than we thought. Come." The strange person beckoned the fighters to follow him. "We have much to discuss. You said that you were from Altea, Prince Marth? Such a fine man certainly only keeps the most honest of cohorts."

Reluctantly, the warriors followed the Minister. Marth seemed to bear the most trepidation, though. Ike noticed this. "What's wrong? I mean, I know that this guy's kinda weird, but he seems to be helping us."

"I never mentioned my name in his presence."

"Hey, yeah." Falco put a feathery finger to his chin. "I didn't see that guy around at all. He just seemed to pop up outta nowhere. How does he know who Marth is? Besides, he seems to trust us pretty easily."

"Exactly. It's as though he knows us already. But that's impossible, isn't it? I don't think Zelda or Link have returned here once since the Battles started."

Ike and Falco were silent, each contemplating their own scenarios. The awkward hush lasted until the Minister led them to a large single-level cottage. "Please, enter here. It isn't much, but it's more than we can offer. These servants were killed by that madman. They'd be honored to give up lodgings for emissaries from another land."

One at a time, with Marth leading, the Smashers entered the hut. The inside was sparsely decorated but rather comfortable. Several dozen beds lay in double file on both sides of the room, almost like the teeth of a giant herbivore. There were fireplaces at both ends, the nearest of which was already lit. The earthy smell of slightly-rotten wood filled the room, completing the image with a sort of satisfaction.

The Minister closed the door behind him once Strawberry had entered. "I hope you don't mind sharing with the advisors of the Princess, but as you've seen, the castle isn't finished yet. The destruction was so total that we had to start from scratch. That accursed Ganondorf and his dastardly magic…"

Ike whipped around and pointed at the small advisor. "How do you know about Ganondorf? Only—"

"Only those who are associated with Princess Zelda know about him, yes. And only those associated with the Princess know about the Smash Brothers." Recognition passed between the Minister and the fighters. There were no enemies in the room.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Minister Potho, master of Princess Zelda's education and the head of her advisory council. Please do excuse Taurence. The public wasn't made aware of Ganondorf or the Smash Brothers, you see. Our Zelda is only the second one of her lineage to ever join your tournament, you see. And Ganondorf is—"

"'A legend for scaring kids at night,' right?" Sonic made his way forward, taking the opportunity to shake Potho's hand. "We heard from Sir Jerkface."

"We understand though. The Smash Brothers society is only for elite fighters. Not only would people be jealous of your Princess for being invited, but they'd worry about her safety, too. This would cause national turmoil that could easily lead to a revolt or other chaotic actions."

Only Meta Knight didn't seem dumbfounded by Marth's explanation. "Which is why you left someone capable in charge of your home of Altea, right?"

"Exactly."

Potho cut in. "Marth is correct. Though we were concerned about sending both the land's Hero and Princess to such a strange and remote…society, as you say, we knew we couldn't stop them. But that's beside the point. You know that they aren't here, so that means that there's something wrong. Please, what has happened?"

LZLZLZLZLZLZLZLZLZLZ

The night was spectacularly silent, with only the crackle of coals and the soft snoring of several Smashers and royal aides to pierce the otherwise still time. From his bed, Ike reflected on Potho's reaction to all that had transpired.

The Minister hadn't been happy, of course. The aged face had dropped considerably, though Zelda's advisor had already suspected foul play. Given the record of the country, it was likely that he'd expected Ganondorf to have captured Zelda again. To not know the fate of both the Hero of Hyrule and the beloved princess—not to mention the danger that the Smash Planet was in—was a terrible burden. Still, the wizened consultant had kept his voice level.

_"I see. Well, that's where you come in, is it not? I have no doubt that you, Prince Marth, and your companions will be able to save everyone. Each of you is a hero in his own right—." _Strawberry had interrupted there, clearly annoyed at being lumped with the guys. _"As I was saying, each of you is a hero in your own right. Together, you can overcome any trial that comes your way. We in Hyrule may not be able to help, but we can pray to the Goddesses for an easier quest."_

The rest of the evening had been simple: dinner and sleep. But now Ike lay awake, unable to banish Potho's words.

_"Together, you can overcome any trial…"_

Through all of the creatures and beings that their force had cut through, the Smashers hadn't been given such high praise. Each Smasher had played on his strengths, with Strawberry putting in some sort of help when she could, through the whole adventure. There was no saying what would come next, but the Minister was right. Together they would succeed. The deities had to be smiling down on them. Yune, Din, Nayru, Farore, Palutena, whatever Goddess Morth worshipped…all of the Smashers here were the blessed of their lands, saving their individual worlds time and again. Granted, it was Straw's first outing, but she had proved to be a wonderful guide.

Ike's thoughts were interrupted by the howl of the wind. It was unearthly and eerie, as though the land itself were screaming. _That may not be too wrong, actually. With all that Hyrule's been through in its history…_

"This land belongs to me, fool. Even if my body is gone, I'm still here."

Warrior instincts kicked in immediately, bringing Ike in a clockwise motion, sword arm outstretched and muscles taut. The savior of Tellius felt no fear as he rammed the back of his hand—

Through Ganondorf.

No, not Ganondorf. Though the…_thing_ in front of him had Ganon's face and voice, it was immaterial. Ethereal. Dead. Ike found himself face-to-face with the specter of Ganondorf, the former King of Evil of Hyrule. "Wh-what the blazes?"

"You're a brave kid, but you won't kill me like that. Besides, I'm already dead!" The ghost's laughter started low, but grew more boastful and more terrifying with each burst. As the guffaws became stronger, the Smashers and advisors started to awake. But by the time everyone was oriented, the spirit of Ganondorf was gone.

The embers of the fire reflected off of Pothos hair, much like the sunset had earlier. This time, though, the effect was more unnatural than beautiful. "Did I forget to mention that we've been having ghost problems?"

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**Blooper!**

"And you!" Ike snapped to attention as the guard pointed at him. "You're wearing a woman's fur sash on your shoulder! What are you, some sort of kinky weirdo?"

Ike smoldered, but came back with a clever retort. "If I am, would you want me?" Falco and Sonic smothered chuckles.

"What? Ew! No, I'd beat you up and give your sash to my wife. She's always enjoyed soft, fluffy things that don't fight back."

By the time Minister Potho arrived, the guard's face was in Strawberry's stomach. The vulpine grimed at the appalled advisor sheepishly. "Uh…I saved you most of it?"

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**No excuses. Only really stupid reasons why I haven't updated this. By the way, I mean no offence to kink weirdoes or people who like fur sashes.**

**Now then, I think most of you know which version of Hyrule I'm using here. But there's a bit of a twist to this: the Minister. He is not an OC. He's actually a character of moderate importance in _The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap_. His position is basically as I described, only he's a lot more neurotic. Or am I thinking of Teacher from _Spirit Tracks_? I forget…Could be both.**

**As to the ghost of Ganondorf, I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. Ah well. Until the next update, friends, ciao chow.**


End file.
